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FACTORY'S PLAN-BOOK SERIES 



rl PRACTICAL WAYS 
TO CUT COSTS 



FdS 





Class 
Book.. 







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CDEXRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




GETTING BETTER WEAR FROM FACTORY AISLES 
Because aisle flooring quickly wears out if laid at right angles to traffic, one Cana- 
dian plant adopted the "herringbone" construction shown in the small sketch. 
An adaptation of the same idea appears in the larger picture — a view in the Westing- 
house Electric and Manufacturing Company. The first plan ha s the advantage of 
permitting continuous use of at least one side of the aisle even while repairs are 
under way. However, the main advantage — longer wear due to placing the planks 
diagonally — is retained in the arrangement shown in the larger view. In either 
case, ready-cut lengths kept in stock make repairs quick and easy. It is inter- 
esting to note that the Westinghouse plan was suggested by the smaller diagram 
which had appeared in FACTORY some time before 



PRACTICAL WAYS 
TO CUT COSTS 



BY THE READERS OF FACTORY. 
THE MAGAZINE OF MANAGEMENT, 
WHO, OUT OF THEm EXPERIENCES. 
HAVE CONTRIBUTED THESE 162 
IDEAS TO THE COMMON FUND 




A. W. SHAW COMPANY 

CHICAGO NEW YORK 
LONDON 






^^^^3 



COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY 
A. W- SHAW COMPANY 



a9s^l^^3^ 



PBmTED IN THE nNITED STATES OF AlfEBICA 



JA683053 

SEP -1 '22 



CONTENTS 

SECTION I 

Factory Location, Construction, and Construc- 
tion Details 8 

SECTION II 
Service Features and Factory Maintenance 22 

SECTION III 

ISIachinery, Tools, Control Equipment, Productng 
AND Distributing Po^^•ER 40 

SECTION IV 

Transportation 52 

SECTION V 

Materials and Supplies 66 

SECTION VI 

Material Savers 78 

SECTION VII 
Building Up and Training the Force 96 

SECTION VIII 
Labor Savers 110 

SECTION IX 
Wage-Payment Plans and Maintaining Efficiency 126 

SECTION X 
Time Savers 140 



PREFACE 

IF, in opening this book, you expected to find a 
treatise on the theory of cutting costs, you are 
doomed to disappointment. If even you expected 
a discussion of cost-cutting principles, or of governing 
requirements, or of factory responsibilities for economy, 
you had better lay the book aside at once. 

For here, in fact, is not — in the ordinary sense of 
the word — a "book" on costs at all; but a set of 
actual cost-cutting tools, arranged for convenience in 
bookish form but each an independent, sharp-edged 
instrument, to be lifted out and put to work as the 
occasion requires, just as a drill or chisel is requisi- 
tioned from a stockroom. 

Therein, the editors feel, hes the strength of this 
little publication. Stripped of every spareable word 
of description, you have, packed into these pages, 247 
plans; practical, because each one has passed the 
test of actual use; adaptable, because chosen with a 
view to general appUcation to a wide variety of plants. 

The plans are taken from the pages of Factory, the 
Magazine of Management, in which the regular 
department, "Practical Ways to Cut Costs," is per- 
haps more eagerly followed by its 50,000 readers than 
any other feature of the magazine. 

Factory is a current companion text to this book. 
To have found a usable idea from the book is the best 
evidence of what can be found each month from the 
pages of the magazine. 



CONTENTS-SECTION I 

FACTORY LOCATION, CONSTRUCTION, 

AND CONSTRUCTION DETAILS 

"Loopholes" That Enlarge the Plant 9 

A Use for Wall Board in the Plant 10 

A Convenient Way to Locate the Dispensary Cabinet. . . 11 

Economizing Space Without Cramping 11 

Using Fragile Gates in Exits 12 

Tunnels That Aid Production 12 

It Pays to Add "List of Materials" 13 

Making Coat Hooks Portable 14 

Fencing with Concrete ^ 15 

A Picket Fence in a Foundry 16 

Two Duties for a Pipe Fence 16 

Preparing for New Aisle Floors 17 

Guarding Benches from Trucks 18 

The Way to Keep Tools Off Window Sills 18 

Screens That Prevent Broken Heads 19 

A Board That Plans New Layouts 20 

See also items in other sections: 

Using One Fan Instead of Four 23 

This Fan Takes No Floor Space 25 

How Soundproof OflSces Help 164 



SECTION I 

FACTORY LOCATION, CONSTRUCTION. AND 
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS 

"LOOPHOLES" THAT ENLARGE THE PLANT 

THE interesting layout illustrated on the next 
page was the result of a rearrangement of heavy 
lathes in one plant in order to obtain bettor use 
of floor space. The raw material run through these 
lathes consists of long bars. 

At first it seemed practically impossible to make the 
arrangement desired and at the same time take care 
of these bars because they are so long. Enlarging the 
factory itself was out of the question. It was finally 
decided to make out-of-door space take care of the 
long bars. They made a hole in the exterior wall 
opposite the head of each lathe and set m this hole 
the end of a 20-foot length of three-inch cast-iron pipe. 
This pipe extends out into the factory yard space that 
is otherwise unused; so that taking advantage ot this 
space without adding a roof or other construction was 
clear gain to the factory from a space point ot view. 
The outer end of the pipe was closed by an ordmary 
pipe cap and near the end it was supported ^Y a post 
of two-inch iron pipe flattened at the top and imbedded 
in a concrete base. In use the pipe is loaded 
through the head stock of the lathe and the material 
is as well protected as though it had a factory root 
over it. The pipe is weather-tight as well as strong 
and no harm can come to the stock while it is thus 



10 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



3"WT IRON PIPE 8"x24-xr\ 




STD PIPE FLANGE_ 



HOLES IN THE WALL ADD PART OF A BUILDING 

You don't have to use inside floor space for the long bar stock you're working on. 

Pipes set in the wall opposite each lathe head can be arranged so as to use outdoor 

space for this stock 

protected. No doubt this method will suggest a 
solution for many a rearrangement that is wholly 
desirable except for the fact that long stock cannot 
easily be taken care of. g. s. f. 

A USE FOR WALL BOARD IN THE PLANT 

ONE Rochester factory has used wall board in a 
way that may suggest possibilities in other plants. 
By running this board up to a height of seven feet it 
makes an excellent partition for enclosing a locker room 
made out of one end of a large manufacturing area. 

The same factory has found that it works out 
rather well for filling in the space under low railings 
when it is desired to make these low dividing walls 
solid or fence enclosures for marking off small shop 
offices. Another firm uses wall board to build safe- 
guards around machines or belts. 

Innumerable places throughout the plant and the 
offices undoubtedly will occur to you where inexpensive 
partitions will be of service, and which can be fixed 
up attractively with wall board. 



FACTORY LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION 11 

When used for this purpose it is well to remember 
that the framework should be rigid and the individual 
panels within the frame of not too great an area. This 
will insure a more lasting job. e. r. s. 

A CONVENIENT WAY TO LOCATE THE DISPENSARY CABINET 

IN one Buffalo plant two rooms used for medical 
purposes are adjoining. To make one dispensary- 
cabinet serve both rooms it was built to fit into the 
wall between them. 

The doors opening from the cabinet into each room 
are of frosted glass, so the privacy of each room is 
maintained unless it happens that both doors are 
opened simultaneously. 

With this arrangement, only one cabinet suffices 
and one set of supplies serves both rooms. l. i. t. 

ECONOMIZING SPACE WITHOUT CRAMPING 

A FACTORY office some time ago became so crowd- 
ed for floor space that the management was obliged 
to cut the caller's waiting or reception room in half. 

This it did reluctantly, because the concern had 
always prided itself upon its attractive and comfortable 
waiting room. After the change had been made it 
was found difficult to rearrange the furniture in the 
room without overcrowding the place. The long 
table which had always stood in the middle of the 
room gave particular trouble. 

To satisfy the need for this table, without crowding 
everything else out of the room, the office manager 
removed it from the room entirely and had the car- 
penter build a shelf along two walls of the room. On 
this shelf are placed all the office materials which were 
usually placed on the table. Chairs are placed in 
front of it and do not interfere with the caller who 
stands up to use the shelf to write. 



12 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

The room accommodates as many callers as before 
and presents fully as attractive an appearance. The 
needed office space was obtained with little effort or 
cost. N. H. s. 

USING FRAGILE GATES IN EXITS 

EVERY factory has a number of departments which 
it is desirable to separate from the general run 
of the plant. Some kind of barrier is required. At 
the same time, from the safety viewpoint, the means of 
exit must not be disturbed. This situation is inter- 
estingly met at the plant of the Northern Electric 
Company by using what it calls ''fragile" gates. 

They are of slat construction, and made of light- 
weight material except the frame, which, of course, is 
heavy enough to be serviceable. Besides being made 
of light-weight material, these slats are fastened only 
at the top and bottom. In this way safety is doubly 
insured. Even girl employees would be strong enough 
to rip them off in case of emergency. l. i. t. 

TUNNELS THAT AID PRODUCTION 

FEW manufacturers have an adequate conception 
of the use to which the space beneath their plants 
can be put. The Studebaker Corporation, in its new 
plant at South Bend, has realized, at least in part, 
on the value of this space. 

Beneath this plant it has constructed two sets of 
tunnels : a tunnel for carrying, through pipes, all 
manner of fluid and gaseous material, and a tunnel for 
carrying waste and scrap to the scrap room. Manu- 
facturers too often bury the pipes which convey heat, 
water, oil, gas, and so on, to the various parts of the 
plant. The space through which these pipes run, 
however, is often little larger than a sewer pipe. 
WTien a break occurs or a leak starts in one of these 



FACTORY LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION 13 

conveying pipes, the ground must be dug up; some- 
times a floor or a road-bed torn up. All this causes 
waste of time and material. 

In preparing their plans, the Studebaker officers 
allowed for a tunnel with an 8-foot ceiling and wide 
enough to allow a man to pass the whole length of it 
with comparative ease. In case of accident or leakage 
it requires but a matter of moments to locate the 
trouble and to set workmen to remedying it. 

The second tunnel system runs beneath all rooms of 
the making division of the plant. It is equipped with a 
conveyor. At regular intervals in the floor of con- 
struction rooms are found openings which lead directly 
to this conveyor. Filings, grindings, sweepings and 
rejected parts thrown down these openings land upon 
the carrier and are at once conveyed to the scrap pile. 
This not only does away with much hand labor but 
relieves the workmen of the constant annoyance of 
trucks passing through to gather up scrap. o. l. j. 

IT PAYS TO ADD "LIST OF MATERIALS" 

IT is customary in the building industry to have the 
list of material placed upon or accompanying the 
drawings. This practise is not so common as it 
might be in machine shops. The works manager of the 
Bickford Machine Company of the Greenfield Tap and 
Die Corporation has a great many jigs and fixtures to 
make for the other plants of the corporation. He finds 
a bill of material quite handy if it is a part of the jig 
or fixture drawing. 

In the first place, it saves him from making out such 
a bill himself. He had to do this before he had the 
list put on the blueprints. In the second place, adding 
the list to the drawing in the drafting room, saves 
time. The draftsman, in order to draw the fixture, 
must necessarily know what material is going into its 



14 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

and what facing and finishing operations are necessary. 
So it will take him very little extra time to put them 
down. 

At the shop, the list on the blueprint is found very 
convenient. The stock clerk can take his blueprint, 
collect the necessary material and put it all in the 
compartment or rack of the bench which is to be 
devoted to that particular job during its presence in the 
shop. 

In this way, a clerk or shop keeper can pick out the 
material instead of having the works manager or an 
expert mechanic, who knows material and can pro- 
phesy processes, spend his time at such work. p. f. o's 

MAKING COAT HOOKS PORTABLE 

THE foreman or superintendent of a department 
sometimes acquires an office ample in most respects, 
but not furnishing a good place to take care of coats 
or hats properly. Indeed, this is true of many places 
in the works where outer garments are laid aside. 

The superintendent of one department of the 
Federal Rubber Company was so situated as far as 
office space went that his files and some other apparatus 
which he had to have handy occupied the entire wall 
space. It was impossible to arrange coat hooks any 
place in the little room except where they would be too 
high to be of use. He overcame the inconvenience, 
and he and his assistants keep their coats and hats in 
good condition in the following way : 

Each man has a board about six feet long and five 
inches wide. On this board are several coat hooks 
spaced one above the other. Through the top of the 
board is a hole, by means of which it can be hung on 
to a spike in the wall just under the ceiling. When a 
man wishes to hang up a coat or hat, he merely reaches 
up, takes down the board, places his wearing apparel 



FACTORY LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION 15 

on the hooks, and rehangs the portable coat hook 
board on the nail high up on the wall. 

The clothes do not clutter up the small office, yet 
can be stowed away on short notice and are easily 
accessible. This arrangement can be applied in a 
great many places, such as are found in any plant 
where lower wall space is at a premium, but where 
there is plenty of room up above that can be properly 
utilized. c. l. a. 



FENCING WITH CONCRETE 



NEW uses are continually being found for concrete 
in connection with manufacturing plants. Many 
of these new uses combine practicability with good 
looks. An example ot this is brought out in the 




A FENCE THAT DOES NOT GIVE TROUBLE 

Weather conditions don't affect it and it really gives the factory the isolation from 

the outside that is essential in some plants. Corrugated iron was used for the molds 

in order to produce the rough surface that's presented to view 

illustration reproduced here. This factory is isolated 
from the surrounding part of town by means of the 
concrete fence. At the same time the effect is pleas- 
ing. In pouring this concrete, corrugated iron forms 



16 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

were used and the resultant design adds considerably 
to the appearance of the whole work. t. R. k, 

A PICKET FENCE IN A FOUNDRY 

AN iron foundry is so big and open that its spaces 
l\ suggest the out-of-doors. Perhaps it was this 
spaciousness which suggested the use, in the stockroom 
of the Chapman Valve Manufacturing Company, of 
picket fences to partition off the cribs of the stock 
department from the adjoining assembly and shipping 
departments. 

These 7-foot fences are made of tall pickets that 
clear the floor by just a few inches. They are painted 
a battleship gray so that they present a very neat 
appearance. It is the kind of barrier that is needed to 
isolate the stockroom crib. 

All parts of the room are visible through the fence. 
It is possible for the superintendent to see from any 
part of the building what is going on in the stockroom, 
the assembly room, the painting department and the 
shipping room. 

There are no partitions to act as obstructions 
to good lighting, and the fence is a great deal 
cheaper than partitions. These are three advantages 
that the management cites in its stand for fences as 
being preferable to partitions. e. s. h. 

TWO DUTIES FOR A PIPE FENCE 

WHERE pipes are used for rails or fencing, it is 
sometimes possible to double up on their value 
by making them serve two purposes. 

An example of this is seen at some of the stations of 
the Northwestern Railroad. Here the pipe fencing on 
the outer edge of the platforms is surmounted at 
intervals by electric lamps. Instead of running 



FACTORY LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION 17 

separate electric conduit to these lamps for carrying 
the wires, this company uses the top rail itself as a 
conduit. 

Doubtless there are places, particularly about the 
factory yard, where the pipe fence can be made to 
serve two purposes. There may be cases even where, 
with the avoidance of future conduit in view, it will 
pay to recommend pipe construction instead of any 
other. L. I. T. 



PREPARING FOR NEW AISLE FLOORS 

WHEN the heavy traffic along a factory aisle 
wears out the floor and repairs have to be made, 
if the flooring runs crosswise of the aisle whole boards 
have to be removed when only the ends projecting 
into the aisles are really worn. 

Here is a plan used by the Connecticut State High- 
ways Commission in removing a section of the first 



HOME-MADE, BUT EFFECTIVE 

This circular saw rig, used on a bridge flooring, would work well on the flooring of 
factory aisles. An air drill motor drives the saw. The operator can vary the 
depth of cut by "rocking the cradle." Lagging, nailed to the floor, serves as a guide 



18 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

layer of planking from a bridge, which would work as 
well in a factory aisle flooring. 

As the two illustrations show, the rather unique 
equipment consists of a circular saw driven by a 
pneumatic drill mounted in an oak cradle chamfered 
at one end. In this way the depth of cut can be 
regulated by rocking the frame slightly. 

In using this rigging, lagging was tacked to the 
bridge flooring in advance to serve as a guide and allow 
the operator to give his entire attention to the working 
of the frame. v. o. w. 

GUARDING BENCHES FROM TRUCKS 

OFTEN a careless trucker can do considerable 
damage. To prevent the truck from running 
into the bench when going around a comer, the West- 
inghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company places 
a floor guide made of ordinary two-by-fours. 

Machines which are located close to the corner of 
two aisles can be protected in much the same way. 

In this same plant the pillars are protected by a 
plate of steel extending two or three feet above the 
floor in much the same way that telegraph and tele- 
phone poles are shielded. n. c. 

THE WAY TO KEEP TOOLS OFF WINDOW SILLS 

IS there anything that gives the factory workroom 
a more untidy appearance than to have the window 
sills cluttered up with tools or rubbish? 

When the Wilson-Jones Loose Leaf Company built- 
a new plant, a short time ago, possible unsightliness 
from this source was done away with by having no 
window sills. That is, what sill there is slopes as the 
cross-section shows in the drawing reproduced on the 
opposite page. Incidentally the edge, sloped at con- 
siderable angle, has less tendency to collect dirt than 



FACTORY LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION 19 




GETTING RID OF WINDOW SILLS 

At the Wilson- Jones Loose Leaf Company, personal property and tools were often 
piled on the window sills. At the new factory it's impossible to block the windows 

if it were an ordinary flat sill. Undoubtedly there are 
other places around the plant — the sloping tops of 
some modern clothes lockers come to mind — where 
simply by avoiding flat horizontal surfaces a great deal 
of the slack appearance that some plants present is 
automatically prevented. R. A. N. 



SCREENS THAT PREVENT BROKEN HEADS 

HE was standing right there and when I swung the 
window open it hit him." 
That's often the explanation of an accident that 
happens around a good many manufacturing plants. 

It used to be in one particular plant that remedied 
the trouble in the manner here described. In this 
factory, screens were placed over all building windows 



20 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

that are "head high," at least where these windows 
in the open position are Ukely to project into a 
passageway outside the building. How these are ar- 
ranged and the need for them is evident from the 
illustration below. 




PROTECTING THE PASSER-BY 

Where steel windows on the first floor swing into a passageway head high, at the 
Packard Motor Company's plant, this screen prevents possible injury to anyone 

passing 

Regular inspection, with similar hazards in mind, 
is more than likely to show up danger spots that, 
however, can easily be "denatured" by properly placed 
screening. l. i. i. 

A BOARD THAT PLANS NEW LAYOUTS 

WHEN one of the plants of the American Laundry 
Machine Company found it necessary to enlarge, 
a convenient visible method of planning the changes in 
layouts which would result from the increased space 
was highly desirable. A planning board as shown in 
the illustration on page 46 was therefore built. The 



FACTORY LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION 21 

layout had to show all the machines or at least all the 
groups of machines in the plant; this meant that it 
must be large. It is tipped off the vertical at an angle 
convenient for draftsmen to work at; a draftsman can 
reach any part of it with ease. At the same time the 
layout is more visible and legible than if it were a 
chart on the wall. The whole board is 18 feet long by 
6 feet high. 

Other necessary changes of layout will inevitably 
occur in the future. Therefore this board is always to 
be left as a standard part of the factory drafting room. 
The general outline of the building will also remain 
the same during many future changes of detail layout. 
Therefore those outlines of the buildings which could 
not be changed excepting by tearing down or highly 
expensive alterations are drawn in ink on heavy brown 
paper firmly fastened to the planning board. Fire 
walls, outside walls, elevator foundations and other 
permanent features are indicated by different colors of 
ink. Provision is made for inserting temporary out- 
lines and titles to show the present location of each 
department; as anyone knows now these are perma- 
nent, but history shows they will probably not remain 
permanent in spite of present intentions. The machine 
groups and department names are drafted on small 
slips of white paper, cut out to fit into the outline of 
the building within which each unit is now located. 

When it is necessary to take a drafting of a proposed 
or actual layout, a sheet of tracing cloth is laid over 
both the big brown sheet and the white inserts, and 
the cloth is inked as though from one solid drafting. 

This board was found very useful in trying out 
several suggestions for re-arrangements incident to 
enlargement, and will be equally useful in the future. 

p. F. o's. 



CONTENTS— SECTION II 

SERVICE FEATURES AND FACTORY 

MAINTENANCE 

Using One Fan Instead of Four 23 

Cooling the Tempering Room 24 

When to Wet Coal 25 

This Fan Takes No Floor Space 25 

Keeping Exhaust Fans Clear 27 

Disclosing Leaks in the Boiler Setting 28 

Fighting Cold Air Draught 29 

Lighting All Parts of the Work 30 

More Bench Room in the Same Space 31 

Why Not Ventilate the Pipe Tunnel 33 

Avoiding Gasoline Fires 34 

Keeping the Keys on File 35 

Using Four Sides of a Rack 36 

These Shovels Do Not " Lie Around" 37 

Eliminates Vapor in Processing Room 39 

Catching Dirt from Belts 39 

See also items in other sections: 

A Convenient Way to Locate the Dispensary Cabinet. . . 11 

Stationing a Shipping Clerk in the Office 95 



22 




SECTION II 

SERVICE FEATURES AND FACTORY 

MAINTENANCE 

USING ONE FAN INSTEAD OF FOUR 

LECTRIC fans are used only four months in the 
year, at the most. For two-thirds of the year 
they represent money invested with no returns. 
It is worth while, therefore, to try to place the fans in 
the offices and in the factory in the locations which 
will give the best results, and to determine with some 
degree of accuracy the size of fan necessary for a certain- 
sized room. 

A western firm made a study of their cooling-fan 
requirements and to their surprise found that they 
could make 25 fans do where they had intended to 
purchase 150. They have about 150 offices all close 
together, with partitions between. Each office wanted 
a fan. 

A careful study of fan sizes and types was made, and 
experiments were conducted to show the best locations 
in the offices. Holes were cut in the partitions between 
offices and rotating fans placed there so that one fan 
ventilated two rooms. In one case a rotating fan was 
placed in a recess cut in the walls at the corners of four 
offices and effectively served all four. 

In this way it was found that about $1,000 could be 
saved because of the smaller number of fans needed, 
and the use of the most effective sort of fan in each 
instance. f. s. w. 



24 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

COOLING THE TEMPERING ROOM 

THE steel-hardening room in a plant is ordinarily 
a hot place even in winter. In summer the con- 
ditions are of course even worse. In an eastern tool 
shop the heat was so bad that on the hot days of 
summer no work could be done at all. All through 
the hot season even the humane precaution of inter- 
rupting work on the warmest days did not prevent 
frequent idleness due to the men staying away from 
work a day or two at a time. 

This manufacturing problem was overcome, and the 
room made fit to work in, by putting a fan in the side 




HIS HEAD IS "AIR-COOLED" 

Formerly the tempering room was unpopular in summer. Now a refreshing stream 
of cool air, head high, makes it a comfortable place 

wall and from the aperture leading an 18-inch gal- 
vanized pipe about seven feet above the floor. From 
this branch, pipes discharge a stream of cool outdoor 
air across the middle of the room just in front of and 
above the furnaces, as shown in the illustration. 



FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE 25 

Now, when a man comes to the furnaces to take out 
work, his head is in the refreshing air. The stream also 
keeps the rest of the room comfortable by circulation 
and suction, the extra air being taken out through an 
opening in the opposite wall. The better ventilation 
has made a noticeable improvement in the willingness 
and ability of the men to work in this room. n. t. f. 

WHEN TO WET COAL 

SOME firemen use a great deal too much water in 
wetting down the coal; others do not use enough. 
It is difficult to provide just the right amount of 
moisture for every case. 

Broad principles, however, may be laid down to the 
fireman, which will enable Mm to get much better 
results than playing the hose in a haphazard manner. 
As a rule, fine coal requires some moisture; even 13% 
or 14% will not be detrimental. The reason why this 
much water is better for fine coal is that unless the fuel 
comes in large pieces it is apt to pack and the fuel bed 
then becomes uneven. When the coal is larger, very 
little water, if any, need be used. Perhaps as good 
a rule as any is to allow no water whatever to be 
used on coal until the nature of each carload is known 
to and passed upon by some competent member of the 
engineering force. h. f. a. 

THIS FAN TAKES NO FLOOR SPACE 

THE fact that factory floor space is usually at such 
a premium need not prevent the factory manager 
from installing a heating or ventilating fan even on 
that floor which seems to be so crowded. A bracketed 
platform constructed on the outside of the building 
makes an effective platform for the heating or venti- 
lating equipment. The illustration on page 26 shows 
how this floor space problem was worked out and 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 




NO SACRIFICE OF FLOOR SPACE 

Where floor space is at a premium, the heating or ventilating fan is easily installed 

to a balcony, as was done at the Dayton Metal Products Company 

overcome at the plant of the Dayton Metal Products 
Company. 

By building a stout railing around the platform 
that holds the blower, one obtains just as easy access 
to its working parts as though the whole equipment 
were installed complete on the floor inside. Fre- 
quently there are important additions to plant equip- 
ment that are not installed as soon as they ought to be, 
for the simple reason that one does not always recognize 
how available the outside of the plant really is for a 



FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE 27 

fan or blower that needs little attention. And the 
results are just as good — sometimes better — as if 
valuable inside space were given up to the new 
apparatus. n. t. f. 



KEEPING EXHAUST FANS CLEAR 

N a plant which utilizes the spraying method of 
painting parts of machines it is usually necessary 
to provide some method of exhausting the excess paint 
vapor, so that it will not settle in the factory and in the 
lungs of the workers. In one plant this was formerly 
accomplished by placing a hood over the painting 




Suction Fan 



7f\ 



\< — HoDd 



Work Bench 



1 




Hood 



Work Bench 



Old iViethod 



New Plan 



THIS PREVENTS TROUBLE FROM CLOGGING 
Considerable time was wasted cleaning the vanes when the paint fumes were ex- 
hausted through the fan. Since re-arranging, as at the right, the fan does not 

clog up 



28 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

table, connected by a 10-inch galvanized pipe to a 
suction fan which drew off the excess paint and blew 
it into the atmosphere. This gave a great deal of 
trouble, as the paint accumulated around the fan and 
every few days it was necessary to shut down the paint 
shop while the accumulations of paint were soaked and 
scraped off. The expense involved was large. The 
problem being to keep the paint entirely away from 
the fan, the method shown at the right in the sketch 
on page 27 was evolved. 

A larger pipe (about 14 inches in diameter) now leads 
from the hood to the outside air. Into this extends a 
6-inch pipe which turns upward inside the large pipe. 
The fan as now used induces a draft in the large pipe, 
somewhat on the principle of an injector, which draws 
off the paint. In this way the paint is kept entirely 
away from the fan and as it is seldom necessary to 
clean the pipes, all shutdowns from this cause are 
done away with. e. d. f. 

DISCLOSING LEAKS IN THE BOILER SETTING 

AIR leakage in a boiler setting sometimes appears 
-^^ such an intangible thing as to be neglected. Here 
is a way, however, to show up plainly whether or not 
your boiler settings are drawing in air where they 
should not. 

The simple apparatus necessary to make the test 
consists of a candle and a sheet of paper, two feet 
square, glued to a wooden frame. In the center of the 
sheet is a hole one inch in diameter. Place this device 
against the boiler wall and with putty make the joints 
between the frame and the wall air tight. Then hold 
the lighted candle before the hole and note the degree 
to which the candle flame is deflected by the draft. 
Although the leakage may not be apparent without 
some such test as this the loss may be very real. It 



FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE 29 




A COSTLY CANDLE FLICKER 

Make a paper-covered test frame like this and see if a candle flame is drawn into 

the inch hole in the center. If so, you may be sure you're wasting coal 

may be well to make tests of the boiler walls once a 
week to make sure that no new leaks have developed. 
The advantage of the idea here illustrated is its sim- 
plicity and its effectiveness in helping one visualize 
how much air is getting into one's boiler by "the back 
way." w. K. T. 

FIGHTING COLD AIR DRAUGHT 

AS every factory manager knows, the place for heat- 
xV. ing pipes, everything else being equal, is in the 
vicinity of windows. In manufacturing plants, how- 
ever, there are likely to be large openings such as 
elevator doors or perhaps wide doors opening from a 



30 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

heated room into a colder one that in one moment allow 
a sweep of cold air to counteract nearly all the heating 
effect of properly placed coils near the windows. 

Where this is the case the maintenance of an even 
temperature in the workroom is greatly facilitated by 
placing heating coils around these doors that are so 




KEEPING A UNIFORM TEMPERATURE 

Heating pipes like these around doorways and entrances help to neutralize the cold 

air which naturally comes in when the entrances are opened 

liable to be frequently opened. The illustration above 
shows how this plan was carried out in the case of one 
plant. By nesting the pipes in this way in a flat 
plane, no valuable space is sacrificed and the heating 
effect is extended over a substantial area. c. w. t. 

LIGHTING ALL PARTS OF THE WORK 

THE extreme difficulty of lighting the inside of 
work on a lathe so that the operator can see what 
he is doing can largely be overcome by the use of a 



FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE 31 




REFLECTING LIGHT INTO HOLLOW PARTS 
Even with a good lighting system it is difficult to illuminate the interior of a cylin- 
drical chuck-work. This mirror on a swivel joint supplants the drop-cord and 
extension light 

mirror. An arrangement of this kind that worked out 
satisfactorily is shown in the picture above . The mirror 
is mounted on a swivel and the operator can throw 
reflected light into ahnost any corner of the work he 
happens to be on. This has proved far superior to 
using an extra incandescent light. o. s. e. 

MORE BENCH ROOM IN THE SAME SPACE 

IF a bench is low, it's inconvenient to write on; if 
it's high it is not much good as a bench. Anyhow 
a bench, even a stockroom bench, isn't designed for a 
bookkeeper's stand-up desk, although there often is 
considerable writing to be done. 

But, in one case, full advantage of both desk and 
bench was retained, and space saved in the bargain, 
by designing the little angle-iron frame pictured on the 
next page. If the angles are sufficiently heavy and 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



securely fastened, the writing shelf will be steady. 
While it is inclined for convenience in writing, a spring 
clip holds papers firmly in place — a blessing too on 
drafty days when the windows are open. The space 
under the shelf is utilized for holding the incoming 
and outgoing baskets. 

A careful inspection of the illustration shows that the 
horizontal cross rod stretched between the two uprights 




GETTING MORE OUT OF BENCH SPACE 

Here is a handy little desk that allows full bench space beneath. The clip holds 

papers and the work is held at convenient height for making notations 



FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE 33 

(at the arrow head) is supported upon two hook brackets. 
When wire is to be measured from a spool, it is handy 
to remove the rod and replace it as an axle on which 
the spool may turn. Out in the factory, in the more 
strictly production side of the work, a couple of spare 
angle irons similarly bent may do equal service, a. l. b. 



WHY NOT VENTILATE THE PIPE TUNNEL 



OFTENTIMES tunnels 
are run between the 
various buildings of a plant 
to accommodate the electric 
cables, and the piping for 
steam, water, air, and so 
forth. 

Usually no provision is 
made to ventjlate these tun- 
nels and in consequence 
working conditions within 
them are often very poor, 
particularly if gas is piped 
there and leakage occurs. 
The picture at the right 
shows how ventilation was 
secured by the Textile Ma- 
chine Works, in a tunnel 
from its power plant to the 
factory. 

Such a vent, if at a con- 
siderable first cost, is likely 
to be a paying investment 
since it renders the tunnel 
more easily accessible and 
makes prevention, rather 
than an expensive cure, the 
order of the day. d. a. k. 




THERE'S A PIPE TUNNEL 
UNDERNEATH 
In order to keep underground pipes 
and cables in good condition, fre- 
quent inspection is necessary. This 
ventilating tower makes the tunnel 
liveable and inspection easy 



84 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



AVOIDING GASOLINE FIRES 




A GASOLINE WASH STAND 

THAT'S SAFE 
Sand box 

Gun cotton string, rapidly burned by 
any flame 

Gasoline cans, for washing parts 
Safety door 
Gasoline storage 

Arms that hold bottom of sand bos 
Rod (released when string burns) 
which lets bottom of sand box fall 
and releases sand; also hits trip (H) 
H. Trip which releases weight (J) 
J, Weight which raises safety door (D) 

by string (K) and pulley 
Safety door protects operator and con- 
fines flames. 



A. 
B. 

C. 

D. 
E. 
F. 
G. 



THE American 
Bosch Magneto 
Company had several 
accidents resulting 
from the use of gaso- 
line in open containers. 
The need for some 
safety appliance be- 
came imperative, and 
the safety stand shown 
in the illustration 
here reproduced was 
developed by their 
engineers. 

This stand is built 
up essentially of angle 
iron with a sand box 
on top and a compart- 
ment for gasoline and 
kerosene cans at the 
bottom. The working 
space is the center, 
about the same height 
as the average work 
bench from the floor up. 

The upper compart- 
ment is filled with 
sand, which is held 
arrested by two trap- 
doors supported by a 
lever on each side im- 
mediately underneath 
the trap-doors. 

The long ends of the 
levers are connected 



FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE 35 

with a string of gun cotton. Should the gasoline be- 
come ignited through some accident, the gun cotton 
string will immediately burn through, thus releasing 
the two levers and opening both trap-doors, releasing 
the sand and smothering the flame. At the same time 
the sliding door in front will move upward, confining 
the flames inside of the compartment. 

The adoption of these stands has done a great deal 
in the way of reducing insurance rates, and they have 
been the subject of much praise from insurance under- 
writers and state inspectors who have had occasion to 
visit the factory. F. w. b. 

KEEPING THE KEYS ON FILE 

THE key rack shown in the picture below is in 
use at the plant of the Eastman Kodak Company. 
It consists simply of a board equipped with metal 
hooks, each one labeled. The board slides inside of 




DO YOU EVER MISPLACE IMPORTANT KEYS? 
If so, isn't it usually because you had no real place for them? This sliding key 
board can be made quickly by any shop carpenter after a glance at this illustration 



36 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

a stationary cabinet which keeps it out of the way 
and yet enables it to be drawn out so that access 
is easy. 

In most plants the keeping of keys is a difficult prob- 
lem, but by some such arrangement as this, together 
with rigid rule that keys must be kept in their place, 
ordinarily the difficulty should be easily solved. 

N. E. R. 
USING FOUR SIDES OF A RACK 

THE ground floor of one factory storeroom of the 
American Laundry Machine Company has a steel 
rack 30 feet square, which is loaded from all four sides. 
The rack is built only of posts and cross-sills in two-foot 
meshwork. The odd-numbered tiers are used for steel 
bars laid horizontally east and west, while the even- 
numbered tiers are used for steel laid north and south. 
This makes the whole stack very firm, as any vibration 
that might start in it is neutralized. Even if the cross- 
sills which form the bottom of each compartment 
collapsed entirely, the steel itself would still hold firmly 
in the form of a stack. 

When the location of any lot of steel in the racks 
is recorded on the index, the side of the rack where it 
will be inserted is specified by a letter N, S, E, or W. 
Following the letter a figure shows how far the desig- 
nated compartment is from the left corner of the side 
of the stack and another letter shows the tier. A card 
will read, for instance, N7E, meaning that this steel 
is to be found on the north side of the rack, seven com- 
partments from the left edge, in the fifth compartment 
from the ceiling. 

Each compartment is made of a generous size to 
provide room for expansion in quantity of any one kind 
of steel and empty compartments are left for the same 
purpose. 



FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE 37 




CONVENIENCE AND ORDER SAVES TIME 

This rack is so designed that piping can be stored like letters in a pigeonhole. 

Alternate layers lie at right angles to each other, and a systematic stock-numbering 

system enables the workmen to quickly locate the piping 

Since men can load and unload from all four sides, 
this divides by four the chances that two men may 
want to occupy the same space at the same time. 

J. w. A. 

THESE SHOVELS DO NOT "LIE AROUND" 

^N orderly shop means a great deal to a company; 
it means more contented workers, more and better 
work completed, less waste of material; the tools are 
kept in better shape and many accident hazards are 
removed. These are only a few of the advantages 



38 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

accruing to a clean, orderly factory. A department 
foreman, in an eastern steel company, being well aware 
of these facts, presented an idea for a shovel rack, which 
was accepted and put into effect by the company. 

The rack, as illustrated below, consists simply of 
two pieces of iron bent around, and bolted to, an I- 




KEEPING SHOVELS OFF THE FLOOR 

The foreman keeps the key to the padlock of this shovel rack, so he can keep close 

track of every shovel 

beam, with enough space left between the protruding 
arms for the insertion of a shovel handle. 

Ten holes bored in each arm, a drilled pin, and a 
padlock are the only means necessary for locking the 
shovels in the rack. Only the foreman can remove a 
shovel, so neither will there be complaints of stolen 
shovels, nor will shovels be lying around. 



FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE 3» 

This rack is so simple that any shop can make it 
and avail itself of these advantages. The idea can well 
be used in other places. i- f. m. 

ELIMINATES VAPOR IN PROCESSING ROOM 

THE elimination of vapor arising from open cooking 
kettles is always a problem in food packing estab- 
lishments. In most instances ventilation of the room 
in which such equipment is located is depended on to 
remove the excess humidity. A large Illinois factory 
has met this issue successfully by placing outlet pipes 
on its kettles and operating an exhaust fan in connec- 
tion with these pipes. In the photograph, on page 45, 
the motors which operate the fans are to be seen near 
the ceiling. Each exhaust fan handles the vapor aris- 
ing from two kettles. Almost no vapor finds its way 
into the room where these cooking kettles are located. 

o. c. 

CATCHING DIRT FROM BELTS 

MOVING belts gather and drop considerable dust, 
which cannot be permitted in food factories. 
Steps must be taken to prevent the dust falling from 
these belts into any open vats or trays. 

In one plant the metal guard which covers the belt 
and prevents an accident from a broken belt is covered 
with canvas. This is fixed so that it can be removed 
easily and cleaned, and it effectively catches any 
material which vvdll drop off the belt and prevents its 
getting into the food. 

In still another factory wall-boards are used to cover 
the belt guard and catch falling particles. This, how- 
ever, is not quite as good as the canvas guard in that 
it cannot be removed and cleaned as easily. J. n. r. 



CONTENTS— SECTION III 

MACHINERY, TOOLS, CONTROL EQUIP- 
MENT, PRODUCING AND DIS- 
TRIBUTING POWER 

How Water Level Affects Oil 41 

Protecting Hose Lines 42 

This Plan Prevents Shutdowns 42 

A Horse You Can "Knock Down" '. . . 43 

Does Your Boiler Scale? 44 

Making an Air Compressor Portable 44 

Protecting Soldering Iron 47 

Taking the Shake Out of Machinery 48 

Saving Time-Clock Minutes 50 

An Economical Use of Cork and Wood 51 

See also items in other sections: 

Guarding Benches from Trucks 18 

The Way to Keep Tools Off Window Sills 18 

When to Wet Coal 25 

Disclosing Leaks in the Boiler Setting 28 

These Shovels Do Not "Lie Around" 37 

There Is No Vibration Here 93 



40 



SECTION in 

MACHINERY, TOOLS, CONTROL EQUIPMENT, 
PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING POWER 

HOW WATER LEVEL AFFECTS OIL 

THERE would seem no direct connection between 
the level at which water is kept in the boilers and 
the amount of oil used in the engine cylinders. 

How one may affect the other, however, was demon- 
strated at one plant a short time ago. 

It was suddenly noticed that much more cylinder 
oil than formerly was needed to lubricate the steam 
valve and piston properly on each engine. At first it 
was thought that perhaps the oil itself was the cause, 
but after an investigation the oil was found to be of 
the same grade as used previously. In looking farther, 
it was found that the water in the boilers was carried 
too high. This caused excessive quantities of water in 
the steam, which in turn washed the oil from the 
working surface of the valves and pistons, making it 
necessary to use much more oil. After the water level 
was reduced, much less oil was used. 

Such a condition ought never to be found in any 
plant. The only excuse for too high water level is a 
single feed-water pumping installation that cannot 
be depended upon. The owner cannot afford to 
run such a risk. Duplicate pumps are called for. If 
excessive cyUnder oil results in the instaiUing of proper 
feed-water equipment, the oil loss is not a loss, but 
a gain. H. A. J. 

41 



42 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

PROTECTING HOSE LINES 

IN the growth of a manufacturing plant it often 
happens that it is necessary to use air or steam Hues 
in a part of the building where no use was necessary 
when the building was built and where no pipes have 
been laid. It is usual in such cases to run rubber 
hose to the place where the air or steam is needed, 
often across aisles which are used by trucks. 

One manufacturing plant met this problem by 
installing U-shaped channels, with triangular filler 
cleats on each side of them, to carry the hoses across 
the aisles. Trucks run over these easily and the air 
hose is protected from damage and interruption of 
service. p. t. h. 



I 



THIS PLAN PREVENTS SHUTDOWNS 

N using pulverized fuel, trouble is sometimes 
experienced in linking up the action of the motors 
driving the blowers and those running the fuel sup- 
ply conveyors. At one industrial power plant, trouble 
of this kind resulted in the shutting down of part of 
the plant, and the fires in some of the boilers went 
out. It was found that the blower motor had stopped 
for some reason and the screw conveyors feeding 
the powdered coal to the boiler had continued until 
combustion stopped. 

It as necessary, in order to produce the instant 
combustion of the powdered coal when entering the 
fire chamber, that the proper mixture of air and the 
coal particles be maintained. This difiiculty was 
overcome by providing a magnetically operated switch 
with the magnet coil connected in the circuit of the 
motor driving the coal feed conveyor. Any interrup- 
tion of current in the magnet coil opens the conveyor 
motor circuit. The conveyor then stops until the 
trouble is remedied and the fan is operating properly 



MACHINERY. TOOLS. CONTROL EQUIPMENT 43 

With this device in use, the possibiUty of chokmg 
the fire box with an excess of coal when there was no 
air supply was eliminated. When the screw con- 
veyor stops it is immediately noticed by the employees 
and the trouble is rectified. t. w. b. 



A HORSE YOU CAN "KNOCK DOWN" 

A CONVENIENT home-made horse— shown be- 
low — for supporting staging and so on, was 
designed by the superintendent of power of a large 
Massachusetts textile mill. It consists essentially of 

a 3x5-inch timber, seat- ^ 1 — « — n^o 

ed, near its ends, in the 
forks formed at the tops 
of two pairs of legs. The 
latter are l|x2| inches in 
size. They and the main 
timber are spruce. The 
cross timber is 8 feet long 
and is carried 7 feet above 
the floor when set up. By 
using a duplicate horse a 
most convenient tempo- 
rary platform may be 
put up at any desired 
point in the mill. 

The timber cross-piece 
is held in the fork of each 
pair of braces by maple 
wedges 12 inches long, 1 
inch thick, Ij inch wide 
at the bottom and 2 
inches wide at the top. 
Horizontal cross-bracing of 2x|-inch stock is fastened 
to the legs. The wedges are equipped with 1x3-16 inch 
leather straps which greatly facilitate their handling 




THIS HORSE TAKES UP NO ROOM 
Uses for a horse are so varied and fre- 
quent that it pays to have one on hand 
that can be knocked down 



44 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

and prevent losing them when the horse is knocked 
down. The forks are lined with lx2-inch blocks screwed 
to the legs. These take up the wear, when the wedges 
are inserted and removed many times, and are easily 
replaced. h. d. h. 

DOES YOUR BOILER SCALE? 

ALL boiler scale results in fuel loss. To get an idea 
«*». of what the United States Fuel Administration 
found to be true when boiler scale was present, the fol- 
lowing table is called to the attention of those having 
charge of boilers: 



Average Thickness 


Coal Wasted from Every 


of Scale 


Ton Fired 


1/50 inch 


. 100 lbs. 


1/32 '' 


140 '' 


1/25 '' 


180 " 


1/20 " 


200 " 


1/16 " 


220 " 


1/11 " 


300 '' 


1/9 '' 


320 '' 



From the right-hand column and from the engi- 
neer's knowledge of the approximate thickness of 
scale on his boiler, he can figure his loss in dollars and 
cents. And if he does not he is liable to be startled 
to such an extent that he will remedy the trouble. 

M. I. B. 
MAKING AN AIR COMPRESSOR PORTABLE 

COMPRESSED air is being used with marked suc- 
cess to clean machinery. It is not, however, 
always convenient to run air pipes with nozzles in 
handy places for the hose connections. 

One factory superintendent, faced with this problem, 
met it by the use of a lift truck. 




NO OVERHEATED IRONS HERE 

This prevents overheating, eliminates the fire hazard — and still keeps the iron hot. 
See page 47 for item 




GETTING RID OF COOKING VAPORS 

An exhaust fan, serving each pair of kettles, keeps the atmosphere of the room free 

from excess humidity. See page 39 for item 

4o 





PLANNING FACTORY CHANGES 
On this large layout board new layouts of machinery or changes in plant construc- 
tion can be conveniently studied. See page 20 for item 

40 



MACHINERY, TOOLS, CONTROL EQUIPMENT 47 

"I mounted an electric motor, air compressor, and 
air tank upon a pair of skids," he explained. ''Over 
the whole I had rather a sharp-angled roof built. 

''While this roof forms something of a protection for 
the equipment from anything falling upon it, its 
real object is to provide two slanting surfaces into 
each of which are driven three pegs. On one of these 
slanting surfaces, around the pegs, the air hose is 
coiled and on the other surface is the electric lead for 
the motor. 

"Then there's a connection for inflating pneumatic 
tires. And while we were about it we put on a 
compressed-air whistle." 

The idea of making your compressed air portable, as 
explained here, is a sound one that can be applied to 
good advantage in many other plants where compressed 
air is needed in small amount and in widely spaced 
localities. h. h. o. 

PROTECTING SOLDERING IRON 

ELECTRIC soldering irons which are left to lay on 
a bench or other convenient place when tempo- 
rarily not in use, gather dirt and become a fire hazard. 
Often the tip will be overheated, necessitating refiling; 
the heating unit may burn out ; or the hot iron set fire 
to the bench or other material. If the current is 
turned off, the iron cools down to such a degree that 
considerable delay is caused when the iron is wanted 
again. 

To overcome these objectionable features some con- 
cerns are using an automatic soldering-iron rack and 
control panel like that shown in the picture on page 
45 which decreases the amount of current taken by 
the iron when it is placed on the rack. 

The rack itself consists of a small slate panel arranged 
for wall mounting and carrying a support for the iron 



48 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

which acts on the principle of the telephone receiver 
hook. When the iron rests on the support or hook it 
bears the support down and resistance which is 
mounted on the back of the panel is inserted in circuit 
with the iron. The current is reduced and the tempera- 
ture held at a safe figure, but ready for service and full 
current just as soon as the iron is lifted from the hook. 

Taking the weight from the hook disconnects the 
resistance from the soldering-iron circuit and allows 
full current to flow. Below the hook, on the same 
panel, is a push-button snap switch and a standard 
receptacle to which the plug of the soldering-iron cord 
is connected. 

This little panel is a complete switch-board which 
may be mounted on the wall or machine within reach 
of the workman. When not in use, and at night, the 
switch is snapped off, which completely opens the 
circuit to the iron. c. h. 

TAKING THE SHAKE OUT OF MACHINERY 

|NE of the phenomena most difficult to eliminate 
in connection with factory work is the vibration 
due to heavy machinery. Considerable progress has, 
however, been made along this very line. 

There are really two kinds of vibrations set up by 
machinery. One is the vibration through the air and 
the other through the foundations of the machine. 

Foundation vibrations are likely to affect the 
structure of the building in time, and even if they do 
not, they constantly annoy by the shaking which they 
cause throughout parts of the building. 

While it is comparatively easy to reduce foundation 
vibrations to some extent, the job must be done 
right if it is to last. 

Layers of insulating material are commonly placed 
between the base of the machine and the masonry 



MACHINERY, TOOLS, CONTROL EQUIPMENT 49 



FAN BASE 







^g^^S2iiiv>^«v] 



^?^?^^^^^:^^^^^ 




'4X6 WOOD FRAME 

■ 2' CORK 

-%"W000 FLOORING 
"^'-^''XS'WOOO FRAME 



MASONRY 
FOUNDATION 



HERE'S ONE WAY TO "CALM DOWN" A FAN 

Vibrations from large ventilating fans shorten the life of the fan. To reduce these 

vibrations a good method is to build up an insulating base of wood and pressed 

cork as shown here 

foundation to absorb in some measure the vibrations 
set up by the base of the machine. A typical arrange- 
ment of this kind, recently shown in one of the engineer- 
ing magazines, and which is adapted to fans, motors, 
small engines, and the like, is indicated in the sketch 
reproduced above. 

This arrangement is designed for the support of a 
large ventilating fan. It consists of a frame made up 
of 4x8-inch soft pine timbers floored over with |-inch 
pine boards upon which are placed two layers of 2- 
inch pressed cork. These layers of cork are separated 
by a sheet of galvanized iron. The fan base is screwed 
to a hard pine frame which rests on top of the cork, 
while the whole insulating layer is separated from the 
concrete foundation by 4x8-inch pads made of 1-inch 
piano felt placed 3 feet apart. 

It should be noticed that the anchor bolts pass 
through the insulating frame only and do not come 
in direct contact with the fan base which is secured to 
the wooden framework by separate lag screws. 



50 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

This is one of the main principles to be kept in mind 
in this kind of work; namely, that anchor bolts must 
be kept as much as possible away from the direct 
foundation of the machine. Otherwise, considerable 
pulsation is carried in the bolts themselves, no matter 
what other insulation you may have. 

It is safe to say that in a large majority of cases a 
little initial expense used in properly insulating this 
type of machinery pays for itself in the long run in the 
better preservation of the structure of the building. 
And besides, there is the constant advantage of free- 
dom from shaking in turning out the product of the 
plant. F. H. w. 

SAVING TIME-CLOCK MINUTES 

AT the plant of the Richards-Wilcox Manufacturing 
■*^ Company, a guard, in the form of a short section 
of gas pipe railing, stands directly in front of each 
time clock, though separated from it sufficiently to 
allow a person to pass between it and the clock. 
Until these rails, which are not over two feet long, 
were placed in their present positions, much trouble 
and annoyance was experienced owing to the fact that 
at closing time employees engaged in a scramble in 
front of the time clocks because of their eagerness to be 
among the first to stamp their cards. As a result of 
such disorder many wrong numbers were registered. 
It was recognized that the presence of a long rail, 
forming an approach to each time clock, would compel 
employees to get in line and register their numbers in 
orderly fashion. There were objections, however, to 
such rails for the reason that in some cases these would 
obstruct racks and benches, while in other instances 
free passage through aisles might be blocked. A simple 
guard serves as effectively as a longer rail to suggest to 
employees the idea of forming a line. l. i. j. 



MACHINERY, TOOLS, CONTROL EQUIPMENT 51 

AN ECONOMICAL USE OF CORK AND WOOD 

IN the modern practise of insulating machinery so 
that as much vibration is ehminated as possible the 
most satisfactory combination is to make a base con- 
sisting of cork and timbers. The drawing here repro- 
duced shows one use of these materials that is practical 
where a minimum of care and expense is desired. Here 



FAN BASE 




RUBBER 



CORK 






r=^=. 




MASONRY 
FOUNDATION 



! I ANCHOR 

' I 

! 8 



BOLT 



NO MATERIAL WASTED HERE 
A simple way of anchoring a machine to its foundation to prevent transmitting 

vibrations 

the base of the machine is anchor-bolted to a wooden 
frame supplied with a layer of cork between the metal 
and the wood, the wood being fastened to the masonry 
foundation by a separate set of bolts. 

The method of insulation employed depends upon 
local conditions and the degree of quietness desired. G. o. 



CONTENTS— SECTION IV 
TRANSPORTATION 

A Chute Made of Slats 53 

Using a Trailer "In and Out" 54 

This Skid Fits Different Loads 54 

Giving Factory- Aisle TraflSc the Right of Way 55 

There's No Side-Tracking These Parts 55 

Turning Trucks into "Assembly Rooms" 56 

"Fanning Down" the Speed 58 

Putting Bins on Platforms 58 

How One Crane Aids Trucking 59 

The Tea Wagon's Factory Cousin 60 

Putting Waste Space to Work 61 

No Rehandling Here 62 

Giving Motor Trucks Better Attention 62 

Making Trailers Track 63 

Keeping Track of Skid Platforms 64 

This Conveyor Boxes the Product, Too 65 

See also items in other sections: 

Tunnels That Aid Production 12 

Guarding Benches from Trucks 18 

Appealing to the Truck Driver's Pride 139 

Handling Coal Continuously 157 

How to Plan Your Routing 163 

Loading Cars Quickly 163 



52 




SECTION IV 
TRANSPORTATION 

A CHUTE MADE OF SLATS 

^O avoid heavy, solid construction, the National 
Casket Company uses a chute made of slats for 
delivering its product from one floor to another 
during the process of manufacture. The bed of each 
chute is concave so that the sliding product touches 
at its two ends only. This reduces friction. The 
chute curves up to the horizontal at the lower end 
sharply enough to act as a brake and stop the material 
by friction just as it reaches the delivery point. 

The bed of the chute is made either of parallel 
wooden slats or parallel iron straps, all following the 
concave form of the chute. These give just sufficient 
friction to stop the load at the end of the chute. 

Pipe, supported at a height of three inches from the 
bed, forms a guard along the sides of the chute. This 
is sufficient to keep the material from dropping off 
the sides, and also offers a minimum of friction. 

On the upper floor at the entrance to the chute is a 
trap-door, which is open only when material is to be 
sent down. A gong on the wall above the trap-door is 
rung as an advice to the workmen on the floor below 
that material is to be sent down. A push-button at 
the lower end closes the contact that rings a bell on 
the floor above as a signal that the men below are 
waiting at the foot of the chute ready to receive more 
material. e. i. f. 

53 



54 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



USING A TRAILER "IN AND OUT" 

FOR hauling material from one building to another 
in our plant, we make use of an electric truck and 
a trailer," said one executive; ''the freight elevator 
carries the trailer to the floor where a load is ready. 
Truckers push the trailer to the point where the 
material stands, load and return it to the elevator. 
When the trailer has been lowered to the ground, the 
motor truck hauls it to the elevator of the proper 
building and it is hoisted to the floor where the load 
is needed. 

We eliminate carrying the load in small trucks to 
the elevator, unloading these trucks outside the 
building, and the reverse operations at the second 
building. g. n. a. 




ADJUSTING A BIN TO THE LOAD 

Rough parts and small castings carried in 

bulk are easily accessible in this steel skid- 

boz with adjustable sides 



THIS SKID FITS DIFFER- 
ENT LOADS 

ONE of the arguments 
advanced against 
the use of skids designed 
to be carried from place 
to place by some form of 
lift truck is that in many 
plants the uses to which 
the skids are put are so 
varied that the skids sel- 
dom fit the load. 

This can be largely 
overcome by putting a 
little more thought into 
the design of the skid 
itself. Here in the pic- 
ture, for example, is a 
skid designed for carry- 
ing large numbers of 



TRANSPORTATION 55 

small parts that must be easily accessible. Such a 
condition is fulfilled by making the skid so that its 
sides can be built up or cut down according to the 
load. At the same time it is easily accessible whether 
filled to capacity or carrying merely a small load. l. i. j. 

GIVING FACTORY-AISLE TRAFFIC THE RIGHT OF WAY 

IN the network of busy factory aisles traffic rules 
are coming to be as necessary as in congested city 
streets. Mirrors to help see around corners and 
warning horns on trucks are aimed to reduce the 
number of shop traffic accidents. But the right-of- 
way has always rested with the pedestrian. Perhaps 
this results in slowing up transportation — a condition 
that would not exist if different kinds of shop traffic 
were assigned to definite zones. A successful attempt 
at this is at the plant of the Westinghouse Electric 
and Manufacturing Company, where a post near one 
side of a passageway separates truck from pedestrian 
traffic. A. N. c. 

THERE'S NO SIDE-TRACKING THESE PARTS 

THERE probably is no more common cause for 
factory mixups than work being side-tracked that 
should proceed along straight lines. This was the 
case with a manufacturer of overalls in Texas whose 
solution of the problem is applicable to nearly any 
factory. 

In his own case material for different orders is 
bundled separately between certain operations. These 
bundles must be handled in sequence if no order is to 
be held up. That this sequence might be preserved 
he conceived the idea of making use of a section of 
gravity conveyor. The curious thing about this 
conveyor is that it is not put there to convey material 
at all, but simply to provide a means of placing the 



56 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 




PUTTING THE CONVEYOR TO OTHER USE 

Short lengths of gravity conveyors like these make convenient holding racks for 

material "in process." Most important, they assure that each bundle is handled 

in its proper sequence 

bundles of material in a row in the order in which they 
come. The operator who removes the goods is 
instructed always to take the bundle at the bottom 
of the conveyor. The other bundles then roll down 
ready for the next one to be removed. 

The operators themselves see that the plan is 
carried out, and it is more satisfactory to them than 
any other method. In the case of hurry-up orders a 
red tag is attached to the bundle, and this is not 
placed on the conveyor section in sequence, but is 
placed on top of the lowest bundle of the series. This 
takes care of those few hurry-up emergencies that are 
bound to arise in any plant. s. A. 



TURNING TRUCKS INTO "ASSEMBLY ROOMS" 

BY placing in operation an improved movable truck 
which carries from man to man all the parts 
required in assembling the machines, the Union 
Special Machine Company found the work greatly 
facilitated. 



TRANSPORTATION 



57 



Formerly, parts were kept upon shelves and in boxes 
in a small accumulating room next to the assembly 
room. Obtaining them meant loss of time for the 
firm, loss of physical energy for the workman, and 
often an irritable frame of mind for both the foreman 
and his men. 

Now the accumulating room is on another floor, 
where there is more room to arrange systematically 
the storage of the parts. 

The trucks are filled at the accumulating room and 
wheeled from the elevator to the assembly room where 
the parts are used. 

The final development of the plan up to the present 
time includes trucks built with slide-drawers opening 
on either side, each drawer designed and built to 
accommodate a number of like parts. One of the 
latest adaptations is shown in the illustration. Thus 
in the case of a machine requiring the attachment of 
28 parts, 60 of each part are accommodated in each of 




HE DOESN'T HUNT AROUND FOR PARTS 

Bvery piece that is to be used in assembling the sewing machines shown on top of 

this truck is carried in compartments of the small drawers 



58 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

28 drawers or compartments in the drawers. Sixty- 
flat beds (the cast-iron base for the machine) are loaded 
on the top of the truck. The truck passes from man 
to man without a hitch till all 60 of the machines are 
completed from parts, all of which are drawn from the 
truck itself. 

This method is right in line with the "progressive 
order," the value of which is so well recognized in most 
manufactures. n. c. f. 

"FANNING DOWN" THE SPEED 

AFTER the installation of several conveyor systems 
■^*" in the Velie Motor Company's plant, it was found 
that one gravity belt conveyor was running too rapidly. 
The belt of this conveyor runs in a vertical plane and 
is equipped with hooks to carry the material that is to 
be lowered by the conveyor. A rather unusual device 
was used to slow up the descent of these loads. The 
shafts of the pulleys at the ends of the belt were 
extended and equipped with large air fans, made of 
thin sheet metal. 

The air resistance to the movement of these two 
fans effectively slowed the conveyor down to the 
desired speed. The exact speed that was needed was 
obtained by changing the size of the fan blades. 
The whole braking arrangement is of simple and in- 
expensive construction, yet it is durable and does the 
work. c. H. A. 

PUTTING BINS ON PLATFORMS 

IN one machine shop special platforms are provided 
for the elevating platform industrial trucks. Each 
platform contains parts for one destination. The 
different bins in the platform each carry different 
parts, the large lower section carrying the main 
castings or other heavy parts. 



TRANSPORTATION 59 

By constructing special platforms such as this, the 
service of the elevating platform industrial truck 
may be greatly increased. f. i. c. 

HOW ONE CRANE AIDS TRUCKING 

A REVISED body or some special equipment in- 
stalled on a motor truck is likely to pay for itself 
many times over in a short space of time. 




A SWINGING CRANE IS HANDY 

This swinging crane is built right into the truck body. With it heavy articles are 

hoisted up and over into the truck with one motion 

As an example of this, take the swinging crane that 
ws attached firmly to the truck shown in the picture. 
Formerly, handling heavy materials in connection 
with this truck was a real job and the expense ran 
into money. The crane, however, equipped as it is 



60 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



with a heavy differential block, not only saves a 
great deal of time, but is a preventive of accidents to 
the men and injury to materials. c. s. D. 



THE TEA WAGON'S FACTORY COUSIN 

T may be first cousin to a tea wagon, but the device 
pictured on this page serves a far more practical 
purpose than its socially inclined relative. 

"In filling orders from 
our stock shelves," said 
an official of this plant, 
''three elements must be 
kept in mind — distance, 
speed and small muscular 
effort. 

This "tea wagon in 
overalls " meets all three 
requirements. The inter- 
mediate cross-piece of 
piping, of which the en- 
tire wagon is made, 
serves as a ladder rung 
for reaching the upper 
shelves. As this rung is 
immediately above the 
fixed legs it adds to the 
stability of the "tea 
wagon" when used as a 
ladder. Thus, lighter 
wheels may be used than 
otherwise as the loads carried are not heavy. 

By fastening lugs to the ends of the regular fiber 
tote-boxes these containers are securely held to the 
wagon. An inchned order board and spring clip are 
handily placed for checking off items of the orders 
as filled. 




THIS IS A "TEA WAGON 
IN OVERALLS" 
Its use makes it much handier to fill 
orders from the stock shelves. The waste- 
basket carried along keeps the stock- 
room's aisles remarkably clean 



TRANSPORTATION 61 

A waste-basket fastened to the wagon, aids mate- 
rially in keeping aisles clean; frequently package lots 
are broken in filling orders and the container itself 
must be thrown away. Formerly the floor was the 
handiest waste-basket. 

Nearly every factory has routine jobs like this — the 
importance of which well justifies a bit of concentrated 
thought in their handling. R. G. J. 

PUTTING WASTE SPACE TO WORK 

WHEREVER an out-of-the-way room or comer 
can be used for a process which is not considered 
to be in the direct line of production, that much space 
is saved to the production department. This fact is 
particularly well illustrated in the plant of the Amer- 
ican Thread Company. ^ ^ 

Boxes of products which originate in one building 
are carried across into another building by means of 
a double-roller conveyor which runs through a bridge 
between these two buildings. After this conveyor had 
been installed, sufficient space remained to take care 
of an entire process— that of assembling fiber boxes 
used in the packing department. The housing of this 
operation in the bridge was made possible only through 
the construction of special tables designed to stand 
over the roller conveyors with the tops raised suffi- 
ciently high to permit the passage under them^ of the 
boxes carried on the conveyors. Since this is a 
gravity conveyor it was necessary to construct a 
number of smaller tables, each one of a different 

height. . 

All of these tables, with one exception, are used to 
store bundles of unassembled fiber boxes. The empty 
table is used to assemble these boxes. When ready 
for use, they are distributed to the various packing 
departments by means of the double-roller conveyors. 



62 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

Where it is not possible in a manufacturing plant 
to utilize a previously vacant space for a new process 
it is frequently practical to shift equipment — this 
conveyor, for example — so that, it occupies no space 
that might better be used for something else. c. h. e. 

NO REHANDLING HERE 

THE uses of various forms of lift trucks are so 
numerous that a day might be well spent by the 
factory executive in nothing but devising ways and 
means of utilizing such a truck in his plant. Typical 
of savings effected by putting a truck of this kind 
through its paces, so to speak, is the method that one 
company used in moving its large number of parts. 
Instead of transferring the parts into tote boxes and 
then again to another bench, the whole transfer is 
simplified greatly by slipping a lift truck underneath 
the first bench and drawing work, bench and any 
tools that may go with it over to the new designated 
location. 

If the object to be moved — a bench, for example — 
is of extreme length, the legs on one end may be 
mounted permanently on small wheels. It is only 
necessary then to run the lift truck under the end 
that has no wheels and haul it away. s. t. e. 

GIVING MOTOR TRUCKS BETTER ATTENTION 

IN view of the advantages to be gained through 
proper inspection and maintenance, which are found 
to a remarkable extent in the largest and best-equipped 
private garages, where fleets of trucks are cared for, 
and because of the difficulty of securing such care on 
the part of the owners of small numbers of trucks, 
several groups of Connecticut truck owners are get- 
ting together and establishing "community garages." 
Their object is to give such owners the advantage of 



TRANSPORTATION 



63 



proper care with respect to the ordinary storage and 
cleaning of their vehicles; to supply gasoline or electric 
driving current; to provide inspection and maintenance 
of their machines, and to rent spare trucks of similar 
capacity when their own are being overhauled. This 
development, if properly organized and supervised, 
bids fair to solve for many truck owners one of the most 
difficult problems of the future. n. c. f. 



MAKING TRAILERS TRACK 

A LARGE eastern railroad terminal employs nu- 
merous storage battery trucks with trailers for 
handhng baggage. The problem of making these 
trailers follow the lead, without short-cutting at 
corners, is a serious one as it is in many factories 
with narrow aisles. 

The railroad finds one of the simplest arrangements 
the most satisfactory — nothing more than a pin 
sliding in a link. 

This is clearly shown in the sketch below. A 
fixed drawbar supporting on its end a heavy pin or 




COULD ANYTHING BE SIMPLER? 

If y&a have difficulty making trailers track, perhaps this plan for getting them to 

follow the leader can be used 



64 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

dog extends from the power truck. Over this pin is 
dropped the link similar to the straight handle bar 
on the ordinary hand-drawn truck. 

When the direction is straight ahead the pin remains 
in the center of the link. Now suppose the leading 
truck is turned to the left. That action is not im- 
mediately transmitted to the handle of the trailer. 
Not, in fact, until the turn is so far completed as to 
force the pin over to the extreme left side of its link 
and this takes time. Meanwhile the second truck 
has been going straight. 

By adjusting the length of the link to the wheel 
bases, the following truck can be made to ''track" 
perfectly. 

This device is doubly practical because the link 
forms the ordinary hand grip when the second truck 
is used in the old-fashioned way. c. l. a. 

KEEPING TRACK OF SKID PLATFORMS 

WITH six departments using elevating trucks and 
consequently numerous wooden platforms in con- 
nection with them it was only natural that an eastern 
paper goods concern would experience some trouble 
keeping a sufficient supply in each department. It 
was expected that each department would be supplied 
with a quantity that would enable the foreman to take 
care of his work and that these platforms would be for 
his use only. When they were used for sending mate- 
rial to other departments it was intended that they 
should be returned as soon as empty. 

This method led to a lot of trouble, for some depart- 
ment usually needed more platforms than it had and 
seized on those available. To identify the platforms 
they had been numbered with large letters, but in 
many cases it was reported that these letters had been 
scratched off and others put in their place. 



TEANSPORTATION 65 

The number of bickerings between departments con- 
vinced the engineer that a better means of identi- 
fication was necessary. He redistributed the plat- 
forms and painted runners or sides of the skids a dis- 
tinctly different color for each department. 

The color stands out prominently and a passerby 
need waste no time in learning where the platform 
belongs. Little trouble is experienced now in securing 
the return of empty platforms to the proper depart- 
ment. The workers have all been warned against 
using any but the platforms of their own department 
without written permission. n. o. l. 

THIS CONVEYOR BOXES THE PRODUCT, TOO 

WHILE conveyors are usually considered simply 
as mechanical means for moving materials, 
sometimes they can be made to act as automatic 
machinery for assembling operations. 

An example of this is pictured on page 117. Here 
the cans of oil to be boxed move down the straight 
conveyor showai on the right-hand side of the photo- 
graph while the box in which the cans are to be packed 
comes in on the curved conveyor discernable at the 
left. At the point where box and can come together, 
the operator simply presses a foot lever and the box 
tilts at such an angle that the can is easily pushed into 
it. 

Upon releasing the lever the box with the oil can 
resumes its upright position on the conveyor and is 
automatically carried around the curve to the nailing 
machine which nails the cover on. 

The boxes with covers on as they come from this 
machine pass directly along the gravity conveyor to 
the inclined belt conveyor seen in the background, 
and this transfers them direct to the steamships in 
which they are shipped to foreign ports. l. a. 



CONTENTS— SECTION V 
MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 

Sandling Piece-Work Records 67 

Cutting Scrap As Fast As Made. 69 

A Convenient Use for Channel Irons 69 

Saving Lubricating Oil 70 

Insuring Thoroughly Oil-Soaked Waste 72 

Recording Numbers by Means of a Check 73 

Holding a Grip on Requisitions 74 

What Every Buyer Ought to Know 75 

Turning "Economy" into "Profit" 76 

Tags That Don't Tear Off 77 

Keeping Routing Cards Clean 77 

See also items in other sections: 

How Water Level Affects OU 41 

Protecting Hose Lines 42 

Protecting Soldering Iron 47 

How Charts Economized OflSce Supplies 106 



SECTION V 



MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 



HANDLING PIECE-WORK RECORDS 



F"^ORMS which are designed for the purpose of 
keeping records necessary in following a piece- 
work job through the shop must conform to the 
department organization and lend themselves to use in 
the control of factory output, the recording of labor and 
material, and the figuring of expense and estimates. 
It's an individual problem for each company to solve. 

One corporation uses in five factories the three cards 
reproduced on the next page. These cards are similarly 
divided, but are printed in different colors. This 
simplifies selection, where they are found together. 

Number 1 in the cut is self-explanatory. The 
portion on the left is torn off and serves to locate the 
order during the process of manufacture. In case 
the order is to be worked on in another department, a 
different tracing stub will replace the original one 
when the job is turned over to that department. 

The payroll is made up from the credit ticket 
portion of number 1, when it is turned in to the cost 
department. These time and credit tickets are com- 
pared with the time cards punched "in and out" at 
the clock by the workmen. 

This same method is followed for both the piece- 
work and day-work tickets. Since these credit and 
time tickets are the basis of payment to the workmen, 
the payroll checks exactly with the labor cost as 
distributed to orders. 

67 



68 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



Then the operator needs a record of the work that 
he has turned out. This need is filled by the "opera- 
tor's credit" portion of number 2. The right-hand 
part of card number 2 is kept by the clerk of the 
department doing the work. This is filed with the 
department records. 



OEPiS^RTMSMT DEBIT 



DESTlNATtOW CARD 



I Slarled 



lOPERATORS CREDIT! 



DEPARTMENT CREDIT AND TIM S RECORD 
~~~ started 



_ TRACiNCS RECORD 



STRAIGHT P. W. CREDIT AMD TIME TICKET 



® 



/^6 



/a.i> 



Started 



1:30 a. ^. 



sue "rn 



S(^7i "^ 



5:0ii P9n 



gii^SL 



Operator rjo. Name ^ . ,ri/ . a^ * 



lA/U 



G41^ 



p. No. Deso. 



if=tsr2. 9{.0Cd4:t^ 



sroo 



SOD 



fn 



"' P9/J. 



/_ 

' ToliiJ credit 



a 



) Dy 



Defectives paid for 



Counted by yy *^ "7' 



Mot. 



5(rd 



Total defective! 



c^^^ 



1.75- 



\ 



Date of delivery 



i(-iS' 



Week ending 

4' if 



Wa(inciKlay ThunKfay Friday Saturday 



Total credit to date 



5'Gi} 



'AzI^ 



Total credit to date 



lAB. LOAD. /. S7> 



/ 5'0 



/S'O 



^uAaj 



07}.m^ 



THREE CARDS COMPLETE THE SHOP RECORDS 
When an operation is performed on a job, this record is made out in triplicate to 
furnish records, on that operation, for the paymaster, the department, the stock- 
room, the office, the operator, the tracer, the trucker, and the next department 

The ''destination card" — ^number 3 — serves to 
identify the order. This right-hand part of the card 
remains in the box with the goods. 

The department receiving goods on this order keeps 
the smaller part — the left-hand side called ''depart- 
ment debit" tag — for the completion of its records. 

Though such records are similar in their general 
principle in different plants, one card may carry the 
information in a simpler or more accurate manner 
than another. E. e. s. 



MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 69 

CUTTING SCRAP AS FAST AS MADE 

TN blanking from sheets of considerable size, diffi- 
-■- culty is always experienced in handling the scrap. 
The blanked sheet is usually so clumsy that much time 
and effort are lost in getting it under the arbor of 
the press. 

A method of automatically clipping the sheet at its 
narrowest point simultaneously with the stroke of 



How Punched Sheet 

Is Cut Apart Clipping Shear 




"3: 



MAKING SCRAP LESS BULKY 

This shear attachment clips the small neck between the punched-out spaces, and 

enables the worker to handle the punched sheet much easier 

the press is illustrated in the sketch above. This 
leaves long narrow strips of sheet scrap, which can be 
readily thrown to one side. Their uniformity makes 
for continued ease in handling to the scrap press. 

E. C. H. 
A CONVENIENT USE FOR CHANNEL IRONS 

VVT'E felt around in the bottom of kegs at arm's 
^ ▼ length of the hidden last few pieces, just as 
many a stockkeeper in many a plant does every day, 
until we devised this simple keg rack," said one stock- 
keeper, referring to the arrangement illustrated on 
the next page. 

Now an ordinary channel iron with the hollow side 
up holds the kegs securely in place and of course 



70 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 





GIVING THE KEGS AN "ANGLE OF ACCESS" 

Formerly these kegs, stored vertically, were bard to see into. Now the rack built 

of channels and light angle irons make them easy of access 

provides adequate strength. Then the ordinary angle 
iron cross-pieces for holding the whole rack together 
are arranged at the proper heights to give the desired 
tilt to the kegs, as the illustration above clearly shows. 
It's a simple application of ordinary steel forms, but 
it does the business. n. c. f. 



SAVING LUBRICATING OIL 

OIL separators are found on the exhaust lines and 
the feed-water heater in practically every power 
plant of any size. Their purpose is to remove the 
cylinder oil from the exhaust steam, so that this steam 
may be condensed and re-used for boiler-feed purposes. 
The oily discharge from the separators in most cases 
is drained through the waste lines out to the sewer. 



MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 



71 



One engineer, however, saw the opportunity for 
effecting a saving in lubricating oil by recovering the 
oil which has been removed from the steam. In order 
to do this, he ran the discharge from his oil separators 
into a barrel arranged, as shown in the sketch below, 
so that the oil would raise to the top while the water 
would be carried off. 



^ Q 



Oil and Water from 
Oil Separator 




HOW THE OIL IS SEPARATED 
The discharge from oil separators is run into the barrel, and the oil rises to the top. 
It is then drained off and used around the plant on jobs not requiring a high- 
grade oil 

This floating oil was skimmed off the top surface 
through a pipe and put through a small oil filter which 
removed a large part of the dirt and grit. This oil 
was then used for the more rugged service around the 
plant, such as on the coal-truck wheels, sHding-door 



72 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



fixtures, and other crude bearings on which it pre- 
viously had been the practise to use new oil. 

With the present high prices of oils of all kinds 
such a simple scheme ought to be found useful in 
most plants. w. b. s. 



INSURING THOROUGHLY OIL-SOAKED WASTE 

N a shop where a quantity of oily waste is used, 
some trouble was encountered in treating it prop- 
erly. To overcome this the superintendent took an 
ordinary garbage can, put it on three legs, and inserted 
a standard water faucet near the bottom. Then he 
made a wire basket to fit the can, now the waste to be 
oiled is placed in the wire basket shown in the picture 
below. The basket is then lowered to the bottom of 
the can and immersed in oil. The waste remains 
there until it is thoroughly soaked in the oil. 

Then the basket is raised and fastened to the top 
of the can by means of three hooks attached to the 




THIS WASTE IS THOROUGHLY OIL-SOAKED 

After the waste is saturated, the basket hooks are hung over the sides of the can 

and the oil drippings are drawn off 



MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 



73 



side of the basket so that it can drain. The surplus 
oil is squeezed out by means of a heavy club. In this 
way it is possible to get enough oil into the waste and 
also to effect quite a saving in oil. The oil not absorbed 
and that squeezed out of the waste is drawn from the 
can by means of the faucet and used over again, h. a. r. 



RECORDING NUMBERS BY MEANS OF A CHECK 

F a stock clerk is going over a lot of goods and 
setting down order numbers or sizes, it requires 
time and effort merely to record the numbers. 

One shipyards superin- 
tendent has devised the 
loose-leafed pocket-note- 
book form reproduced on 
this page for this very 
purpose. He finds that 
it has wide application. 
Instead of writing down, 
for example, the numbers 
21, 125, 151, three check 
marks are made as shown 
— a much simpler opera- 
tion than writing it out, 
and more legible, partic- 
ularly if done with a stub 
of a pencil by a man 
with gloves on and with 
numbed hands. 

In case the numbers 
are of a higher order, 
digits are added in pen- 
cil at the left. Thus here 
the checks represent 221, i^'s easier than writing 

1 ori • ^ THEM OUT 

o20, and 351, instead OI a pencil check properly placed tells the 

*?110P\ Qir>/^1f\1 TD/~i T story. Besides being quicker there is less 

Zl,lziO, ana lOl. K. G. J. chance for error from iUegible figures 



/ — 


\ 




X 





1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


o 


X 






















<$, 


1 
























2 




/ 


















o 


3 
























4 






















o 


5 
























6 
























7 
























8 
























9 
























X 






















i 


50 
























\\ 






















o 


12 












/ 












13 






















o 


14 






















15 




K 




















13 






















o 


17 
























18 






















^ 


19 




















J 



74 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



Requisition Authority 



HOLDING A GRIP ON REQUISITIONS 

N many concerns thousands of dollars monthly 
are spent through the storeroom. This stock is 
generally issued upon requisition to anyone holding a 
signed requisition. An enormous possibility of leaks is 
then created. 

It may be understood in the storeroom that one 
man is privileged to draw stock, but anyone can forge 
this man's name. Too many persons being able to 
draw stock only causes a great supply of stock in 
process of use or in desks, as in the case of stationery. 
The privileged man when leaving the company can 
go to the stockroom after his dismissal and requisition 
stock to his liking. 

To prevent any such contingencies arising, an 

eastern concern, desiring 

to standardize its requisi- 
tions, uses the form re- 
produced here. 

The original consists of 
a form printed on tracing 
paper. Each department 
manager is supplied with 
one of these forms at pe- 
riodic intervals. The sig- 
natures of those author- 
ized to requisition stock 
are secured and a check 
is made under the initial 
of the storeroom from 
which the signer can se- 
cure stock. Upon the 
approval of the depart- 
ment manager the forms are sent to the blueprint 
room, where sufficient copies are made for each store- 
room. 



Dept. 



Date Effective 



W^ 



Signature 



<Jb^^ 






Approved 






Instruction 
Place a check ( >^ opposite name under 
storeroom where signature is to be honored. 
Storerooms to issue stock only to those 
persons whose signatures appear oa this list. 



TO PREVENT PILFERING 
One manufacturer distributes blueprints 
of this "signature list" to each stock- 
room to prevent unauthorized requisi- 
tions 



MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 75 

In this manner only those authorized can secure 
stock and only upon the proper signature. Any 
employee who has had requisition privilege upon 
leaving the company has his name automatically 
removed from the list; and this company saves thou- 
sands of dollars yearly. n. y. t. 

WHAT EVERY BUYER OUGHT TO KNOW 

npHE case of the purchasing agent of one company 
■^ in Indiana illustrates how important is a knowledge 
of his factory operations to the man who buys raw 
materials. 

His specialty was the purchasing of fabric. He 
knew the market and he knew the technical qualities 
of good fabric for the different purposes for which the 
company used it. 

But the purchasing agent knew nothing about the 
operations themselves. He did not know whether a 
department would be better served, whether work 
would be eliminated and men saved if he bought all 
of the particular fabric in 300- or 400-yard lengths. 
He had been buying from jobbers here and there, 
50-yard rolls, 100-yard rolls, 600-yard bales, and so 
forth. He saw and knew only the market end of his 
business. 

Then, one day, a wide-awake young fellow got a 
bird's-eye view of the whole thing. After studying the 
proposition from the standpoint of waste, and facility 
in handhng, he standardized the length of fabric to be 
used. This was something the company or purchasing 
agent had never heard of before. 

This little standardization cost the company approxi- 
mately $1,000 more a year on all their fabric, but by 
the elimination of the extra handling in certain depart- 
ments the time of six men was saved. At a minimum 
of $6 a day per man, this amounted to $10,000 a year. 



76 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



There was also an increased use of the equipment and 
increased production owing to the fewer number of 
changes and set-ups. All in all, the cut in costs was 
surprisingly large. This Indiana company now makes 
it the business of the purchasing agent to know shop 
practises and operations. The purchasing agent and 
the production manager have their offices beside each 
other. W. N, J. 




TURNING "ECONOMY" INTO "PROFIT" 

SAVING typical of what can be done toward 
waste prevention in punch-press work is illustrated 
by the manner in which one manufacturer of pressed- 
steel medicine cabinets makes a small cabinet, much 
of the material for which is waste from the larger 
cabinets. _ 

All of these cabinets 
contain mirrors. In 
punching the frames for 
the mirrors, which also 
form the door frames of 
the cabinets, . a rectan- 
gular piece of metal is 
always left over. 

It is logical to make a 
line of smaller cabinets 
by punching from the 
left-over pieces of the 
larger cabinets frames 
similar but smaller in 
size. This kind of saving 
is so profitable that it 

frequently pays a manufacturer to spend considerable 
time thinking out new products to put on the market 
which can be made out of the left-over pieces from his 
standard output. c. h. m. 



A SAVING THAT MAKES 

A PROFIT 

After the cabinet-mirror frame is punched 

out, a frame for a smaller cabinet is 

punched from the metal left 



MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 77 

TAGS THAT DON'T TEAR OFF 

'UCH inconvenience comes from tags, tied to 
• packages, being torn off in transit. This is a 
hindrance to the accurate moving of materiaL To 
avoid losses of this sort one large company makes use 
of a tag with four holes in it instead of one. 

Instead of one corner of this tag being tied to the 
package, thereby leaving it free to flap around and 
become torn, a manila tag is tied around the package. 

This makes it he flat on the package, and prevents 
any possibility of its coming loose and flapping about 
to tear off. Although this was used on an automobile 
tire, the same method can be used in tagging nearly 
any kind of package, and the slight additional expense 
of providing a tag with four holes instead of one, will 
usually be well repaid in losses thus avoided. 

E. R. s. 

KEEPING ROUTING CARDS CLEAN 

WHEN routing cards, sent along with an order of 
material, encounter oil or dirt, they often become 
so soiled that they are not legible. To overcome this 
difficulty the Greenfield Tap and Die Corporation 
shops enclose the card in one of their regular mailing 
envelops that have wax-paper windows. Their routing 
card is so arranged that the figures and information 
most frequently needed during the journey through 
the shop come under the window in the envelop. 

If further information is needed for accurate processes 
and so on, the card is easily removed from the envelop. 
It is left unsealed for this purpose. The outside of 
the envelop furnishes sufficient space for any notations 
that have no proper place on the routing card. 
Through long usage, this plan has proved the practica- 
bility of these envelops for the route cards. p. f. o. 



CONTENTS -SECTION VI 
MATERIAL SAVERS 

Saving Packing Lumber 79 

One Little Help for the Coal Pile 80 

Saving Oil after Test Runs 81 

Cutting Costs on Paper Towels 81 

Glass Plates Save Tables 82 

Repairing Belts Promptly 83 

Keeping Eyes Open for Savings 84 

Preventing Waste of Down 85 

A Little Help That Saved Money 86 

Insuring the Factory Lumber Supply 86 

Taking Only the Size He Needs 87 

Keeping Turnings on the Move 87 

A Mezzanine Keeps Work Clean 88 

How a Perforated Bench Saved 90 

Storing Oil in Concrete 90 

Salvaging the Left-Overs 90 

The Color Tells the Story 91 

Checking Screw Output 92 

There Is No Vibration Here 93 

Wire-Mesh Sides for Hand Trucks 93 

Stationing a Shipping Clerk in the Office 95 

See also items in other sections: 

Guarding Benches from Trucks 18 

Protecting Hose Lines 42 

Taking the Shake Out of Machinery 48 

Repainting Unnecessary 155 



78 



SECTION VI 



MATERIAL SAVERS 



SAVING PACKING LUMBER 



THE Jones and Lamson Machine Company used 
to enclose their machines in a complete box of 
heavy lumber, even for domestic shipment. 
Recently, however, they decided to try a skeleton 
packing. This was found to result in no greater 
injury to the goods, and it saved a great deal of lumber. 

The practise now is to build a platform beneath the 
machine with cross trucks sufficient for smooth riding 
on rollers and then to build a skeleton frame of four 
posts up the four corners of the machine and four cross 
pieces, sufficient to hold the platform snug to the 
machine. The bulky parts of the machine are en- 
closed in a special housing built to fit that part of the 
machine and fastened to the main frame. But not 
all the parts formerly thought bulky really need the 
precaution of close boxing. Lever handles, for 
instance, may project a little from the machine, and 
so apparently be hable to injury. They are not, how- 
ever, dehcate and would stand considerable strain. 
Even if they were scratched this is not the same as 
denting the tooth of a gear or some other essential ul- 
terior part, for a lever is as strong with a scratch on it. 

While it should always be the practise of a manu- 
facturer to pack his product so it will arrive in perfect 
condition, investigation frequently shows that valuable 
packing material is wasted through needless precau- 
tions. E. R. A. 



79 



80 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



ONE LITTLE HELP FOR THE COAL PILE 

ONE of the savings made possible when the manage- 
ment of a large plant investigated heat waste, 
involved the hot water faucets in general use through- 
out the works. 

A study was made of the use of hot water in all 
departments. Where it was used only for convenience 
and was not a necessary 



depart- 
It was 
passing 




FOOT VALVE (Self closing! 



part of process work the 
hot water was shut off. 
The use of hot water in 
the lavatories was dis- 
continued not only in the 
main offices but in the 
manufacturing 
ments as well, 
found that in 
through the piping the 
temperature of the water 
was raised sufficiently so 
that it could be used for 
strictly cleansing pur- 
poses. 

In many of the depart- 
ments when it was found 
necessary to retain hot 
water, self-closing faucets 
were installed. The total number of hot water faucets 
throughout the plant was decreased 30% by this close 
scrutiny of real needs. 

The illustration shows how waste was eluninated 
even at those taps still retained. The mechanism 
consists of a self-closing valve operated by the work- 
man's foot. In this way, only the amount absolutely 
necessary was drawn. There was no chance of the 
excess being allowed to run to waste. By operating 



STOPPING THE WASTE OF 
HOT WATER 
Workmen are liable to forget to turn off 
hot water after washing. Here foot-oper- 
ated valves shut it off automatically as 
soon as the worker removes his foot 



MATERIAL SAVERS 81 

the self-closing valve by foot, both the workman's 
hands are left free to wash with, thereby permitting 
the operation to take place in the shortest possible 
time. This is a pretty good plan to keep in mind in 
looking over your own plant since the cost of coal 
plays such an important part in the manufacturing 
process. h. g. s. 

SAVING OIL AFTER TEST RUNS 

JN a 36-inch planer which is made by a New England 
company there are eight oil wells, each holding a 
pint. In the 54-inch planer made by this same 
company there are 10, each holding about two quarts. 

By the use of a squirt gun it is an extremely simple 
matter to remove the oil before the ways are slushed 
for shipping. This oil is used again in the saws and 
threading machine. 

If the persons receiving the planer do not remove the 
oil before using there is a great chance of damage to 
the ways and V's by steel chips, dirt, and foreign 
substances which accumulate in shipping and settle 
in the oil. 

By removing the oil before shipping it can be re-used 
BE stated above. Thus there is a twofold advantage in 
doing this — a worth-while saving in oil and also a 
lessening of liability of damage to the planer, j. l. h. 

CUTTING COSTS ON PAPER TOWELS 

PAPER towels are just one of the incidental items, 
the cost of which worried our office manager until 
he worked up a little poster which has effectively 
operated to decrease the waste in this one supply. 
He worked on the old theory that the average indi- 
vidual realizing the cost of an acticle will not be so 
likely to use it carelessly or to waste it as if he were 
totally ignorant of its value. 



82 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

At each point where paper towels are available, he 
posts a little sign which reads, ''Last month we paid 
out 000000 dollars for towels used in this company. 
Each individual can help reduce such amounts." 

This plan has worked out so well that the managers 
are considering the advisabihty of applying it to all 
the miscellaneous supplies used in the office, and even 
of expanding upon the form of the chart itself. The 
new form considered is a graph which would indicate 
the cost of an item used each month. For example, 
in a neat little glass frame below the container for the 
towels would appear a chart with a curve drawn upon 
it indicating the variation in the cost of the towels 
used each month. One important element which 
must not be overlooked is to make the figures exact 
so that no one in the office may have any basis for a 
claim of propaganda. t. f. m. 

GLASS PLATES SAVE TABLES 

A FOREMAN in a plant which makes tooth brushes 
was troubled with having to renew frequently the 
top board of the tables at which the operatives worked 
on the handles. This work involved wiping each 
handle with a sponge damp enough to take off any 
dust. 

When the sponge was dropped carelessly upon the 
table top between operations on successive brushes, it 
softened the hardwood surface, which became pitted 
and easily silvered. But the top of the table had to 
be smooth and even to properly handle the brushes in 
groups with speed and dispatch without getting slivers 
into the brushes, so new table tops were frequently 
put on. The expense of tearing apart a table and re- 
newing a two-inch hardwood top was considerable. So 
a small rectangular plate of white glass, the material 
used in lunchroom table tops, was tried with success. 



MATERIAL SAVERS 83 

The small plates of white glass in place cost 55 cents 
apiece. Even if they do break or get worn, only the 
small plate, and not the whole table top has to be 
replaced, and it can be done quickly. j. y. m. 



REPAIRING BELTS PROMPTLY 

ALTHOUGH electric drives and direct-connected 
■^*' machinery are coming more and more into 
use, nevertheless, there are thousands of belt-driven 
machines in operation today; and there will be for 
years to come. 




"FIRST AID" FOR INJURED BELTS 

One of these stations is located in each department at the Westinghouse plant. 

Belt troubles are thus taken care of almost as soon as they occur 



84 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

One of the arguments against belt-driven machinery- 
has always been the loss incurred by breakage of the 
driving belt. While this, of course, is a real objection, 
no doubt will always be a source of loss and trouble, 
nevertheless there are ways of lessening the loss. For 
example, in a central location and prominently marked 
with signs in each department at the Westinghouse 
plant are located what are called belt stations. 
Machines having belt troubles are promptly indicated 
by number on the signal rack so that a minimum of 
time is lost by the belt repair man in giving relief. 
With all modern facilities at hand for repairing belts 
and with a man or men whose sole job consists in 
making repairs as nearly instantly as possible, a mini- 
mum of time is lost in which the machines are down 
from belt trouble. No doubt any plant using belt 
drives to considerable extent would profit greatly by 
providing some sort of belt-repair station and meanslof 
notifying this station as soon as a machine is out of 
commission due to belt trouble. n. c. f. 

KEEPING EYES OPEN FOR SAVINGS 

tOCATING a convenient ''source of supply" very 
-^ often solves the problem of high costs, which 
seem to be irreducible due to the closeness of figures 
submitted by a number of vendors, from whom prices 
were solicited. To illustrate: 

A concern paid a local dealer 90 cents each in quanti- 
ties for wooden boxes 30 by 20 by 11, and as other box 
concerns could not touch this price it was taken for 
granted that nothing could be done to bring about a 
reduction. It happened, however, that a nearby plant 
was receiving supplies in wooden boxes the dimensions 
of which corresponded to the sizes mentioned, and as 
this particular plant did not re-use the boxes, they 
readily agreed to sell them for 25 cents each. 



IVIATERIAL SAVERS 



85 



The buyer of the concern interested in the boxes 
put the finishing touches to the transaction mentioned, 
but credit for the suggestion was duly accorded to one 
of the automobile drivers. It was he who saw the 
boxes, and it was his foresight that started the ball 
rolling. Such is the spirit of cooperation. t. j. c. 



PREVENTING WASTE OF DOWN 

IN an upholstering factory many of the better grade 
cushions were filled with fine down. The down 
was put in a large box, the workman crawled half 
way into the box and 
then stuffed the down in- 
to the cover. When the 
cushion was filled, usually 
there was about as much 
material scattered around 
the room as he had placed 
inside the pillow. The 
down was light in weight, 
and also expensive, which 
made this operation cost- 
ly in time and material. 
As an improvement, a 
self-feeding chute was 
planned. The bag of 
down now is placed 
mouth downward in this. 
At the bottom a sleeve is 
placed on one side, as 
shown in the illustration. 
Into this sleeve the man 
inserts his arm. Similar- 
ly, back of this and rest- 
ing on the table the cushion cover is pulled 
over a projected opening. 




THIS SLEEVE SAVED MATERIAL 

When cushions were filled with fine down, 

much of it spilled on the floor. This 

sleeved arrangement prevented nearly all 

the waste 



tightly 



86 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

The man works without any dust getting into his face 
and there is absolutely no way in which the material 
can get loose around the room. The saving of mate- 
rial during one day's work more than offsets the cost of 
the special chute and table underneath it. l. j. c. 

A LITTLE HELP THAT SAVED MONEY 

A TORONTO manufacturer of an automobile ac- 
cessory which is made up of many small parts 
found that his workmen were spending much time in 
picking up little parts which were almost continually 
finding their way to the floor. To save time and to 
secure better value from his labor, this maker installed 
new work tables with the edges raised slightly. 

When an employee now drops a small screw or part, 
the piece rolls from the edge of the table toward the 
center and is easily recovered. The new equipment 
was secured to make up for a reduced working staff 
larely composed of help that was more inexperienced 
than in former years. w. m. g. 

INSURING THE FACTORY LUMBER SUPPLY 

ONE manufacturing plant used a considerable 
quantity of lumber in connection with its shipping 
and packing department, and because of the restricted 
space available for lumber storage, it frequently be- 
came necessary to hustle around town to pick up lumber 
to meet their requirements, and incidentally often 
pay fancy prices for it. There was also the inconve- 
nience caused by this continual buying of material 
from week to week. 

The purchasing agent finally hit upon the scheme of 
calling in a local lumber merchant from whom most 
of the purchases were made, and making an agreement 
with him whereby the company would purchase all 
their lumber through him at fair market prices, and in 



MATERIAL SAVERS 87 

return the lumber dealer would store for them in his 
yard, any excess supply which the company might 
buy from him from time to time. On this basis the 
purchasing agent could buy in carload lots at such 
time as the market was favorable, or when such lots 
could be bought up advantageously. The lumber 
dealer, also being assured of a steady outlet for a 
certain grade of material, could also take steps to stock 
up on these grades without undue risk, so that here 
again the purchasing agent insured a steady supply of 
lumber. a. l. m. 

TAKING ONLY THE SIZE HE NEEDS 

WHEN emery cloth or other abrasive cloth 
comes to the workman in full-sized sheets, he is 
likely to use more than he needs. A sheet will be 
torn to get the particular size of piece needed and 
very likely the remainder wasted. 

To overcome this source of waste, some companies 
use abrasive cloth in long strips of various widths 
from ji of an inch to 2^^ inches put up on spools. 
Under this plan an operator is not disposed to clip off 
more than he needs and throw the remainder on the 
floor to be lost. w. b. t. 

KEEPING TURNINGS ON THE MOVE 

EVERY concern that goes deeply into the question 
of saving waste materials has its own methods for 
handling this scrap. 

Some of these methods can be apphed only to certain 
concerns, but the method that one plant uses is appli- 
cable to any number of factories. 

The waste material or scrap that comes from the 
various machines in this plant is all turnings and is 
bulky in form. It is taken out from underneath the 
machines at night so that during the daytime the 



88 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

salvage department can get at it and send it to the 
proper places. The employees in the salvage depart- 
ment take this material and put it in buckets and 
conveyors. 

After the buckets are completely filled, the men 
send them to one department where they are emptied 
and the material filtered into oil separators. After 
the oil is extracted, the scrap goes to the chip separators. 
From here it goes through the washing machines and 
on into the inspection department. 

So that the salvage department will know each day 
how much scrap is handled, every machine is numbered 
and has a tag showing how much waste material it 
carries during the day. Then when the scrap is 
finally loaded into box cars and shipped on to be sold, 
the superintendent knows exactly how much material 
he sold and how much was handled during a definite 
period. 

The real effectiveness of this plan lies in the fact 
that the scrap is cleared out every night so that the 
salvage department can get at it the first thing in the 
morning. 

It takes a little time to do this, but it is worth while 
in the end because the men can get at it handily and 
there is no necessity for stopping the work of the 
employees to get at some of the shavings and turnings 
that He around each machine. f. d. s. 

A MEZZANINE KEEPS WORK CLEAN 

^N exceptionally dirty job sometimes has to be 
done in a room which must be kept particularly 
clean. This is true of the retouching room of the 
Florence Manufacturing Company, whose product has 
to be handled through the enameling or lacquering 
bath in quantities. Afterward the product must be 
looked over piece by piece. 



MATERIAL SAVERS 



89 



Those few pieces which come out of the lacquering 
bath with a few small flaws, due to air-bubbles, are 
retouched by experts with a brush. Once in a while, 
however, it is necessary to give a piece of product a 
thorough treatment with an air-brush or spray. The 
tiny dots of spray must not be allowed to fly over 
upon the work at a neighboring bench. Yet the tools 

for the work, and the 
material, are here in this 
room, and the factory is 
not so arranged that an- 
other room could easily 
be provided at this point. 
So the two problems of 
space and cleanliness 
w^ere solved at the same 
time by building a cage 
which is suspended from 
the ceiling — a mezzanine, 
where this work can be 
done. It is above the 
tops of the racks and 
trucks, which need go no 
higher than a man can 
easily reach. So it really 
does not take up any 
extra space. When an 
operator has a particu- 
larly dirty job to do, he 
takes it to the cage. The 
sides of the cage are made 
of chicken-wire tacked to the suspending framework. 
If the operator feels that there is any danger of the 
spray flying to the work below, he lays heavy sheets 
of paper against the wire netting and clips it into 
place, thus having a paint-proof wall. p. f. o's. 




A SPECIAL LOCATION FOR A 
SPECIAL JOB 
In this mezzanine cage suspended from 
the ceiling, workers put finishing touches 
on enameled pieces. It's out of the way, 
but there are other advantages which are 
explained elsewhere on this page 



90 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

HOW A PERFORATED BENCH SAVED 

WE make automobile tires," said one factory execu- 
tive. ''Our rubber stocks after being taken from 
the mill are laid upon a table to cool and at that time 
are dusted with soapstone. 

''Formerly much of this soapstone found its way 
to the floor and could not be used again. 

"But we have a suggestion system in the plant and 
not long ago someone suggested that a tray be placed 
underneath perforated tables. Now the surplus soap- 
stone falls through the perforated table into the trays 
and is used again." r. b. l. 

STORING OIL IN CONCRETE 

THREE concrete tanks, at the Trafford City 
foundry of the Westinghouse Electric and Manu- 
facturing Company, have proved satisfactory as fuel-oil 
containers. Recently, one of the tanks was used to 
store transformer oil, and held the light flash oil as 
easily as the heavy fuel oil. 

Each of the tanks has a diameter of 37 feet with a 
capacity of 125,000 gallons. Built of reinforced con- 
crete, the tanks have successfully resisted the weather. 
The little seepage that occurred was easily stopped 
by the use of a concrete hardener on the tank. A. l. b. 

SALVAGING THE LEFT-OVERS 

IN every factory there are a great many concealed 
nooks and corners where waste material of all kinds 
is apt to be thrown. Apparently the odds and ends 
that are thrown here are useless, but oftentimes, in a 
clean-up campaign, they are picked up and either used 
over again or sold at a profit. 

The Dayton Metal Products Company believes in 
using every bit of material that accumulates around 



MATERIAL SAVERS 



91 



the factory. Some time ago it started a general clean- 
up. One of the results of this clean-up was the gather- 
ing up of all the odds and ends found in out-of-the-way 
and inconspicuous places around the plant and while 
they were apparently useless when they were discarded 
they were profitably put to work after they were 
picked up. They did not represent a great amount 
of money, but they showed the workmen how such 
odds and ends can still be used at a profit even though 
they appear to be worthless. 

Such clean-up campaigns will show every factory 
superintendent how he can save more money. He will 
see that there is a lot of unnecessary waste throughout 
his plant and can take the opportunity to caution the 
workmen not to throw anything in the rubbish pile 
until he is first absolutely certain that it cannot be 
used any more. M. f. m. 

THE COLOR TELLS THE STORY 

SPECIFYING shipping dates and adhering to them 
are two different things. They are made more 
nearly coincident, however, by a plan of color-labeling 
in use in the plant of Ed. V. Price and Company. 




"THESE MUST BE FINISHED BY THURSDAY" 
Nobody says this to the worker, but she knows it because there is a little strip of 
colored gingham pinned on each garment that goes through the factory. The 
color of the strip shows the worker on what day the garment must be ready to ship 



92 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

When an order is received, the material necessary to 
fill it is laid out and cut. As each garment is cut from 
the cloth, a small strip of colored gingham is pinned to 
it. Each day of the week is represented by a dif- 
ferent color. Then whenever an operator picks up the 
goods or parts of a garment, she knows immediately 
the exact day that this particular garment must be 
finished. 

With this method in use, the matter of adhering to 
specified shipping dates is greatly simplified. Every- 
one knows the time when work must be finished and 
out of the factory and all work to meet that goal. 

R. G. G. 
CHECKING SCREW OUTPUT 

COUNTING and keeping record of production was 
always a problem in the screw machine department 
of the Line Materials Company. It was a simple 
matter to count the finished pieces by hand or on a 
counting scale, but the management was always 
ignorant of the quantity of waste produced by its 
operators. Furthermore, there was always a tendency 
to overrun or underrun an order. 

"One of our men suggested the use of counting 
machines on the screw machines," said an official of 
this company. ''The question then came up as to 
how to prevent a false count by the counter recording 
when the machines were running idle. 

"We purchased a few counters to experiment with 
and were able to overcome this trouble by attaching 
them in such a way that the product itself tripped the 
counter lever. This entirely eliminated a false count 
when the material was used up. 

"This application worked out very well, so satis- 
factorily, in fact, that we have since equipped all our 
automatics with them. This simple installation gives 



MATERIAL SAVERS 93 

an accurate count of total production and entirely 
eliminates overruns and underruns. It also gives 
certain knowledge relative to the most efficient opera- 
tors and workmen, which we heretofore could^ not 
attempt to estimate. The use of this simple, inex- 
pensive method of keeping track of production has 
benefited us to such an extent that we take great 
pleasure in passing it on to those who can use it as 
advantageously as we have." c. w. f. 

THERE IS NO VIBRATION HERE 

A PLANT manufacturing a great variety of small 
metal parts found that the best way of cleaning 
these was to rattle them or tumble them in water. 
When the tumbling barrels were put into the depart- 
ment with other machines the noise and vibration was 
too great and the water leaking out of the barrels 
kept the floor in bad condition. 

After careful consideration the problem was finally 
solved by taking an old basement and fixing it up 
with drains for each set of tumblers. Water is piped 
to the barrels and to the rattlers. The leakage and 
dirty water emptied out is taken care of by these 
drains. Since the rattlers or tumbling barrels are 
geared to transmission racks bolted rigidly to the 
floor, there is practically no vibration whatever felt in 
the rest of the plant. A plan of this nature is readily 
adaptable to plants maintaining their own foundries. 

A. M. M. 



WIRE-MESH SIDES FOR HAND TRUCKS 

'HEN small departmental trucks are loaded into 
automobile trucks for transfer to other parts of 
the plant or when they are subject to considerable 
shaking from any cause, it has proved effective, in 
order to prevent loads from falling off, to close the 



W! 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 




SCREENS THAT SPEED UP TRUCKING 

Hand trucks that have to be moved on motor trucks are due for a considerable 

shaking. In order to prevent the contents from falling off, these wire-screen sides 

are used to advantage 



four sides of each hand truck. One good plan is that 
followed by a manufacturer who added to all such 
hand trucks removable sides of wire mesh; the mesh 
being thoroughly bound in a rectangular iron frame. 
To the ends of the frame he fixed simple hardware 
catches which fit over similar catches on the end boards 
of the trucks. When the truck is loaded it is only a 
moment's work to snap the wire-mesh sides into place. 



MATERIAL SAVERS 95 

When a load arrives at its destination each small 
truck is wheeled off the automobile truck onto an 
elevator and sent up to the right department where it is 
wheeled to the proper machine. The truck can be 
unloaded from either side or both. 

Not the least of the advantages of this open-work sid- 
ing is the fact that the contents of the hand trucks 
are easily visible and the trucks therefore never are 
sent to the wrong departments, which happened 
frequently before. w. b. s. 

STATIONING A SHIPPING CLERK IN THE OFFICE 

WHO decides whether an order that has one item 
out of stock shall be held for the missing item, or 
shall be shipped at once, and when the missing item 
shall be sent after it is ready? One factory has at the 
stock ledger desks in the office a clerk with years of 
practical experience in the shipping and packing room. 
He knows what each article looks like when packed, 
what a list of items will weigh, what space they will 
take up, and the shipping rates. 

Whether or not it would be as economical to ship a 
part of the order, and if so, what part, is decided by 
him in the office before any material is picked out. 
This saves a good many freight bills for customers, and 
gets business. Making the decision in the office before 
any of the material is picked out saves moving material 
part of the way toward the door of the shipping room 
before someone discovers that it is not ready to ship, 
and then having it lie in the way there, half packed. 

J. H. w. 



CONTENTS^SECTION VII 

BUILDING UP AND TRAINING 
THE FORCE 

When the Workmen Quit 97 

Reducing Labor Turnover 97 

Keeping Track of Sickness 98 

What Is a Suggestion? 99 

Washmg Up "On Their Chvn Time" 100 

More Space to "Old Timers" 101 

When Wage Rates Are Raised 101 

Giving Titles to Jobs 102 

Getting Men to and : from Work 103 

How Magazines Influence One Office 104 

Serving Workers with the Shop Paper 105 

Obtaining a Check on Absentees 105 

"Where Does Tony Lapenski Live?" 106 

How Charts Economized Office Supplies 106 

"Brothering" New Employees 107 

Running a Shop on a Budget 109 

See also items in other sections: 

Tightening Up on Punctuality 127 

Capitalizing the Noon-Hour 128 

Responsibility Makes Bigger Men 131 

Appealing to the Truck Driver's Pride 139 

Selling Safety to Workers 133 



SECTION VII 

BUILDING UP AND TRAINING THE FORCE 
WHEN THE WORKMEN QUIT 

THE cost to a firm when one of its employees leaves 
is made up of two parts. First, there may be 
an actual lapse of time in which the man's place 
remains unfilled. . Second, when the new workman 
arrives it is at considerable expense that he is intro- 
duced to his new duties. 

One company has its employment department inter- 
view everyone leaving its employ, whether discharged 
or not. If it is a case of discharge the man is referred 
to an adjustment committee to review the justice of 
the case. The statistics which accumulate are used 
by the management to get at the real seat of the 
trouble and discontent. f. i. c. 

REDUCING LABOR TURNOVER 

PERIODICALLY, there comes into manufacturing 
conditions throughout the country periods when 
labor is hard to get and when labor turnover, due to 
the men themselves shifting around, is a serious item 
to be reckoned with. 

One manager finds that the proper place from which 
to draw workers is, as a rule, the inomediate vicinity 
of the plant. So he is having made an industrial 
census of the community within a radius of one mile 
from his plant. He also is advertising the desirability 
of working within walking distance of one's home. 

97 



98 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



This preliminary work, while not so important at 
all times, nevertheless, is based upon a sound, common- 
sense policy, likely to make prospective employees see 
the advantages he points out. There is no doubt that 
his average labor turnover benefits. c. h. e. 



KEEPING TRACK OF SICKNESS 

IN order to promote the adoption of a standard 
method of reporting sickness, the Public Health 
Service has worked out a plan which is presented in the 
Monthly Labor Review. A separate personnel card 
is kept for each employee in the plant, whether the 
individual becomes sick or not. The 4-by-6-inch forms 
are illustrated below. 




HEALTH RECORDS THAT ARE VALUABLE 

By keeping a separate personnel card for each worker, similar to those shown above, 

valuable health records can be quiculy and accurately compiled. Health advice 

based on actual figures carries added weight with workers 



BUILDING UP AND TRAINING THE FORCE 99 

From these personnel cards monthly tabular state- 
ments can be made, showing the number of cases of 
sickness occurring in the plant and the sickness rate 
per 1,000 persons. Tabs or signals on different divi- 
sions at the top of the card can be used to designate sex, 
color, and age groups. Thus, a blue signal at the 
top of the left third of the card indicates "white, male, 
under 25 years," and in the right third "45 years and 
over." A red signal can be used for white females, 
and so on. At the end of the month the number of 
workers of each sex, color, and age group in any occu- 
pation or department, or for the plant can be recorded 
quickly from these tabs. A distinct signal for each 
illness, attached to the card when the person becomes 
ill and removed at the end of the month, facilitates the 
keeping of the sickness record. b. e. h. 

WHAT IS A SUGGESTION? 

THIS is a question that many workers ask them- 
selves. Why not solve it for them by posting some 
such notice as this on your bulletin board: 

"A suggestion, such as our committe is looking for, 
is a statement of an idea, method, plan, device, policy, 
or anything else which will contribute to the success 
of the company, and that includes the welfare of every 
employee of the company. 

"A suggestion must be positive, not negative. That 
is, it should state a way for improving an unsatisfactory 
condition, not being content to state the difficulty only. 

"A suggestion need not refer to your own work 
exclusively. Preferably, it should refer to something 
out of the line of your own work. You are always 
expected to make suggestions touching your own par- 
ticular duties and for these you are paid a salary or 
wages. So if your suggestion does concern your own 



100 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

task, it should concern the tasks of others also to be 
acceptable for a bonus. 

''Suggestions which refer to a routine already 
ordered but for some reason not observed cannot be 
considered. 

''Suggestions for plans already in preparation, 
though not yet in effect, cannot be accepted, but full 
proof will be submitted to you." 

This plan was used by one concern and it gives the 
employees a better idea of just what is acceptable. 

T. s. R. 

WASHING UP "ON THEIR OWN TIME" 

IN one plant in Massachusetts, employees formerly 
registered on the time clock when they entered the 
building, and then proceeded to the wash and locker 
room where they changed clothing before going to work. 

In the evening, the employees would also wash and 
change clothing on company time. 

The works manager believed that because of this 
practise, a considerable increase in the manufacturing 
cost per unit resulted. 

After studying the situation, he recommended that 
a small addition to the plant be erected just outside of 
the employees' entrance, and that the wash and locker 
rooms be placed in this addition, with the time clock 
between this addition and the main building. The 
suggestion was carried out and employees now do their 
washing up and changing of clothing on their own time, 
not stamping their cards until they are all ready to 
go to work. 

The resultant savings, says the works manager, has 
paid for the cost of the building addition in less than a 
year and has shown greater production benefits than 
he had at first anticipated. s. J. e. 



o 



BUILDING UP AND TRAINING THE FORCE 101 
MORE SPACE TO "OLD TIMERS" 

NE concern has found so much interest displayed 
— ' by its employees in those workers who have been 
in the plant for several years that, in its shop paper, it 
has added a department known as ''The Old Timers' 
Corner," in addition to its regular personal paragraphs 
department. 

The shop paper of the Western Electric Manufac- 
turing Company also is devoting space to the old timers. 
One of the features of an issue is to have several of the 
older workers tell how they came to work for the 
Western Electric, and their experiences up to date. 

w. J. A. 

WHEN WAGE RATES ARE RAISED 

WHEN an employee of The American Rolling Mill 
Company is thought worthy of an increase in 
pay, his foreman fills out a card like that shown below. 



Recommendation for change in rate — — ''9- 

Mr . — 

i recommend the following change in the 
f3^g Qf .Check Number — 



Present position 

Proposed position, 
rate 



Change in position to commence. 
Signed 19- 



_ Rate Per . 

_Rate -Per. 



_19 

. Foreman 



Countersigned ^19 Department Superintendent 

Approved 19 General Superintendent 

Recorded by Employment Bureau By Timekeeper 

(over) 



RECOMMENDING A RAISE IN WAGES 

On the front of this card the foreman enters the details necessary for the clerical 

work incidental to an increase in wages. The answer to the last question on 

the reverse of the recommendation has considerable emphasis in deciding whether 

the man is worth promoting to positions of higher pay and responsibility 



102 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



Give full and complete reasons for change recommended 



Does he use intoxicants?. 



which must be approved by the department superin- 
tendent and the general superintendent. 

The face of the card gives the details as to present 
and recommended rates, but the back shows the 
reasons for the raise. n. c. f. 

GIVING TITLES TO JOBS 

THE employment manager frequently finds it well 
worth while, in order to cooperate with the shop, 
to agree with other officials upon names for different 
jobs for which he is asked to provide men. The idea 
of this is not to make the minor job appear of undue 
importance, but simply to furnish labels in order to 
avoid misunderstandings and in order to impress the 
applicant with an appreciation of his own work. 

As suggested some time ago by E,. J. Bourke, of the 
Detroit Steel Products Company, ia a paper written 
for the American Academy of Political and Social 
Science, it is important in any plant to get up an 
organization chart or tree. This chart ought to show 
the structure of the business in a graphic manner and 
list the different kinds of work so that each job for 
which a man is hired has a title. 

By using these titles exact work referred to soon 
becomes known. Along with their use, the employ- 



BUILDING UP AND TRAINING THE FORCE 103 

ment manager must, of course, have a good knowledge 
from actual shop observation or experience of just what 
the work is. He is then in a position to explain to the 
applicant intelligently what he is entering into, and 
when the man is hired he can send him to the proper 
foreman, who understands the exact subdivision of 
work for which the new man has been taken on. w. P. 

GETTING MEN TO AND FROM WORK 

IN large cities, getting factory workers to and from 
their work does not offer the same disadvantage 
that is found in smaller towns. This is sometimes a 
serious problem, one which the manager has to solve 
to the satisfaction of all. One of the most common- 
sense ways of accomplishing this is that adopted by 
the Clark Equipment Company, whose plant is situated 
in a small town. 

Many of the men working here come from surround- 
ing villages, some of them from as far as 16 miles away. 
The company has two busses which are run to pick up 
the men who do not Hve too far away. As for the rest, 
some of them own automobiles of their own and the 
others ride with their friends or walk. 

Some time ago a proposition was made to those 
owning machines. They were asked to take one or 
two men living near them to work and back in their 
machines. This suggestion has been carried out suc- 
cessfully, and has practically done away with time lost 
due to tardiness. A man owning a machine is allowed 
an average of about 30 cents a day by the company for 
every other man he agrees to carry back and forth. 

In this way, not only is the slight extra trouble of 
the machine owner repaid, but he is given pleasant 
company on his way. Here is an easy way to prevent 
tardiness when the whistle blows for the day's work 
to commence. N. C. p. 



104 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



HOW MAGAZINES INFLUENCE ONE OFFICE 

AN executive of a New York manufacturing plant, 
'^ realizing the store of useful information and data 
furnished by magazines devoted to modem industrial 
management, determined upon a helpful plan to interest 
his junior executives in the magazines, and also to get 
them to read them critically and intelligently. 

The company was a liberal subscriber to this class of 
magazines. These magazines upon being received were 
labeled with a tag posted on the front cover. The 
form of the tag is shown below. Once this tag was 
placed upon the magazines they were circulated among 
the executives, who signified whether they had read it 
or not, or any other comments they cared to. 

If an article particularly appealed to a junior execu- 
tive, he could request a copy made of the article to be 
returned to him for his own information and file. 

The last man to receive the magazine was the general 
manager, who could tell, by looking at the cover 
form, which of his men were reading the magazines, 
and which ones were actually benefiting by them. 



MAGAZINE TO BE SENT TO 



Mr. Brown 






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Ur. Jayson 



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Mr. (iulnn 



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Mr. O'Donnell 



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Genl. Manager 



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Lltrary 



CHOOSING THE MEN WHO HELP YOU THINK 
One executive passes around to his subordinates the magazines dealing with man- 
agement problems. The magazines come back to him with notations and remarks, 
and he knows they have generated some ideas in the minds of the men 



BUILDING UP AND TRAINING THE FORCE 105 

By shrewd and adroit questions sandwiched in 
between other business at his weekly conferences, this 
executive was able to further judge of the results of his 
men's reading. R. R. J. 

SERVING WORKERS WITH THE SHOP PAPER 

A GOOD policy for a shop paper is to keep in mind 
the interest of the workers. This is well worked 
out in the paper published by the Republic Motor 
Truck Company. 

An instance of this is the notice of the top of the 
want ad column which reads: ''There will be no charge 
for these, but on account of limited space we will pub- 
lish them two times only unless notified to continue." 

In the columns following are miscellaneous wants 
expressed. Also ''lost and found," "for sale," and 
anything which is beneficial to the men. c. h. m. 

OBTAINING A CHECK ON ABSENTEES 

SIX months ago one manager tried a new plan to get 
reports from employees who were to be absent 
from work. One thousand postal cards were printed 
and distributed among the men, asking that each, if 
absent, mail a card properly filled out, stating the 
cause of his absence, even if for one day, and, if pos- 
sible, about how long he would be absent. 

The plan has worked admirably. Out of 492 
absences, 406 reported by card, 72 requested our nurse 
to visit their home, either in behalf of the man or his 
family. An absence without a mailed excuse card 
is now regarded as an unexcused absence which counts 
against the man on his personnel record. 

If you have trouble from unexpected absences among 
your men — and what executive has not? — why not 
make it easy for them to notify you by furnishing postal 
cards without cost? n. m. t. 



106 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



"WHERE DOES TONY LAPENSKI LIVE?" 

IN many plants it is desirable to have ready references 
which will give the names and addresses of the men 
together with other information about them. 

In one such plant a vertical visible file is mounted 
on wheels. The file contains a card with each man's 
name, department in which he works, his nationality, 
home address and home telephone number. 

During the day this index is in the employment 
department. During other than working hours it is 
moved to the central telephone operator's office as 
the operator is on duty day and night. e. e. s. 



HOW CHARTS ECONOMIZED OFFICE SUPPLIES 

ORDINARY office supplies, such as pencils, erasers, 
scratch-paper and the like, are sources of thought- 
less waste. In most cases the only thing needed to 





SUPPLY COST 




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Jan. Feb. Mar. Aprii May June Ju 

Department Average- <S 


ly 



INDIVIDUALIZING OFFICE WASTE 

This chart shows how each office worker stands in value of office supplies used. 

The crossed circles show the average for the department each month. Clearly 

there is a tendency to save 



BUILDING UP AND TRAINING THE FORCE 107 

cut this waste to a minimum is to call the office worker's 
attention to it in some vivid manner. 

In order to keep the cost of office supplies at the 
lowest point, one Ohio office manager has placed a 
graphic monthly representation of each department's 
consumption before the members of that department. 
The cost of each article is considered when computing 
the total amount of supplies used. 

Each employee is charged with the cost of the 
requisitional article, and at the end of the month his 
name, with the amount used, is entered on the chart 
which is posted in the room. Only the articles in 
common use are entered. 

The saving effected over a period of six months is due 
entirely to calling the employees' attention in this graphic 
manner to the way their supplies used mount up. 

In turn, each department, as a unit, expressed in 
each man's cost, is charted and posted in the general 
factory manager's office. Placing this little item of 
expenditure in such a form has greatly decreased the 
cost of office supplies for the entire company. The 
competition resulting between department managers 
in trying to keep their department cost the lowest, 
adds greatly to the force of this method. r. v. w. 

"BROTHERING" NEW EMPLOYEES 

THERE is no doubt that when a man is new and 
green, he is seen at the very worst advantage. 
This period, too, is the time when he costs his employer 
the most, and when he is most liable to have accidents. 
The general manager is not able to greet each new 
man personally and make him feel at home. This 
function he must leave entirely to the man's fellow- 
workers. The Corn Products Refining Company in 
an attempt to get its men interested and active in this 
has put up the following bulletin: 



108 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

''Do you remember the time when you were a new 
employee? Perhaps it was not so long ago, or possibly 
it was many years ago; but every workman here was 
a new employee at one time. Didn't everything seem 
strange to you at that time — the plant — the machinery 
— the men? 

"Perhaps there was one man in the department who 
greeted you with a smile, and who occasionally gave you 
a 'tip' on how to do your work more easily. At noon 
this same man told you how to 'check out/ and showed 
you where the best place was to eat your lunch. And at 
night he showed you the best way to get to the street. 

"You learned to like this man and looked to him 
for any information you needed about your work. And 
if he told you that a certain job was dangerous you paid 
more attention to it than if a safety inspector had told 
you about it. 

"When we have new employees coming into the 
plant, every old employee has a great opportunity and 
duty to perform toward these men. Treat them as 
you would Hke to be treated if you were in their place. 
Show them where they are likely to get hurt, and set 
a good example by being careful yourself. 

"It has been said that a new employee is as dangerous 
as an unguarded machine, for he is likely, through lack 
of knowledge of his new surroundings, to injure others 
as well as himself. This is true until the new man 
has been made to realize the dangers connected with 
his occupation. The sooner you help him realize this, 
the sooner will he and you be safe from accidents. 
Give the new employee the 'glad hand.'" 

It is more often through thoughtlessness than inten- 
tion that old employees fail to get into touch with a 
new man. Bringing the matter to their attention is 
often sufficient to change the whole atmosphere of the 
shop. L. p. F. 



BUILDING UP AND TRAINING THE FORCE 109 

RUNNING A SHOP ON A BUDGET 

BUDGETS are commonly associated with the office 
end of the business. That their use out in the 
shop itself, however, is beneficial is proved by the 
methods employed in the Detroit Vapor Stove Com- 
pany. 

Here the producing labor is budgeted by depart- 
ments and the budget posted plainly for every shop 
worker to see. 

One of these departmental budget boards is illus- 
trated on page 117. On the board the department 
labor to be allowed is figured from the number of pieces 
actually produced at the piece work price, and the 
production percentage is worked out by taking this 
figure against the actual payroll for the same period. 

The foreman of any department whose production 
shows a falling off of a considerable amount below the 
percentage that should be obtained is subjected to 
more or less discussion by his fellow men. 

The management has found that these budget 
boards out in the shop tend to spur on the men in 
healthy working competition. e. r. g. 



CONTENTS— SECTION VIII 
LABOR SAVERS 

Enameling in Spots Ill 

A Bench to Make Fiber Cartons 112 

Making Friends with Gravity 113 

Vacuum-Cleaning Raw Material 114 

Bringing Work within Reach 115 

"Last Piece in Last Piece out" 116 

Making Heads Save Heels 120 

Counting Small Parts Rapidly 121 

Inspecting Small Parts Easily 122 

How to Paint Small Bolt Heads 123 

The Bicycle Wheel Holds the Work 124 

See also items in other sections: 

It Pays to Add "List of Materials" 13 

Preparing for New Aisle Floors 17 

These Shovels Do Not "Lie Around" 37 

Putting Bins on Platforms 58 

This Conveyor Boxes the Product, Too 65 



110 



SECTION VIII 



LABOR SAVERS 



ENAMELING IN SPOTS 



IT is curious how long an old-time method will be 
adhered to although it may contain operations 
which can be performed in a much easier way. 
For example, in one factory, the product of which is 
spark-plugs, the porcelain portion of the spark-plug 
was sprayed with a glazer. The hard part of the opera- 
tion was that the central part of the porcelain had to 
be left rough, without any glaze on it. In other words 
a band around the center was required to be left 
unpainted. 

For a long time this had been done by slipping a 
collar around the porcelain section and so preserving 
the central part from having enamel sprayed upon it. 
A large number of porcelain sections were placed in an 
upright position upon small vertical mandrels. Each 
of these mandrels was turned slowly by gears from 
below. 

As the porcelains revolved they were brought before 
the spray and so received their coat of glaze. It took 
considerable time and trouble to slip the protecting 
bands upon the porcelains before painting, then to re- 
move them afterwards. Since the porcelains revolved 
in a horizontal plane, one of the men experimented 
holding a thin obstruction in the spray itself at vary- 
ing distances from the nozzle. 

When the best distance away was found, the obstruc- 
tion or shield divided the spray of glaze into two 



111 



112 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

parts, each of which painted the ends of the porcelains. 
This left the desired band in the middle unpainted. 

L. I. T. 
A BENCH TO MAKE FIBER CARTONS 

npHIS picture shows a home-made bench employed 
^ in the preparation of fiber shipping eases. Each 
bench is made to handle six boxes. Two benches are 
used at one time by a single workman. Built of 
ordinary two by fours, each bench carries forms of 
proper size, by means of which the containers are 




WHERE ONE MAN DOES THE WORK OF TWELVE 

The cartons are shaped on forms — six to a bench. Boxes filled with bricks hold the 

flaps in position while being stuck. By the time the last carton is made, the first is 

ready to be taken from its form 

held open and in an inverted position. The bottom 
flaps of the box are then bent into place and the 
adhesive is applied. A cover filled with brick and 
weighing about 45 pounds is then let down upon each 
flap to hold it securely in position until the adhesive 
has set. 



LABOR SAVERS 



113 



When two benches are operated it has been found 
from the experience of this factory that the first box 
to be glued can be taken from the form by the time 
the operator has completed the round of the other 
eleven forms. One man can prepare 100 boxes an 
hour when working on benches of this sort. Obviously, 
the saving in both time and labor is a factor in cutting 
production costs, which is worth while considering. 

C. S. D. 
MAKING FRIENDS WITH GRAVITY 

IF they think about it at all the best way to utilize 
gravity is a perpetual problem with factory execu- 
tive. It is sometimes remarkable how long a laborious 
custom can exist before one discovers it to be laborious 
and expensive and a simpler, easier way substituted. 
This is clearly brought out in the case of one factory 
where for years it had been the custom to drain oil 
barrels in what was always considered the logical way. 




NOW ONE MAN CAN EMPTY THESE BARRELS 

When it was necessary to raise barrels of oil to drain them it was hard work, for 

two men. Now one man can do it easily. There's not only saving in human 

energy, but a reduction in manufacturing costs as well 



114 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



Their method was to assign three or four men to each 
barrel, have them hoist the barrel two feet into the 
air and slip a container underneath to receive the oil. 

Nowadays one man does the same work more easily 
than several men did before. The illustration on page 
113 shows why. The barrel is simply rolled on its 
side to a particular spot in the floor of the room. 
Here there is an opening through which the oil drains 
into a tank on the floor below. 

It is a comparatively safe wager to say that the 
manager of any factory — no matter what improve- 
ments he already has made — can find still more ways in 
which gravity might be made to work for him at a 
wage of nothing at all. r. g. g. 



VACUUM-CLEANING RAW MATERIAL 

NO doubt 50% of the operations in a factory involve 
the idea of cleanliness. At least there is that 
percentage of operations benefited by keeping the 
work clean. The vacuum cleaner is coming to be 
used more and more in manufacturing, not only because 




TAKING THE DUST OUT OF A FABRIC 
The tire fabric passes between two pipes with slots in them, as it is unrolled from 
one cylinder to another. Besides thoroughly cleaning the material, it is a simple 

matter to inspect it for flaws at the same time 



LABOR SAVERS 115 

it is capable of extracting dust from inaccessible 
spots, but because it does the job more thoroughly 
than can usually be done by other means. 

Here, for example, is the way the vacuum cleaner 
principle is used in cleaning tire fabrics in a factory 
making automobile and bicycle tires. The sheet of 
fabric is drawn over two vacuum pipes with slots in 
them. The dust is thus removed as the goods pass 
slowly along. It happens in this case that the appara- 
tus offers convenient means of inspecting the fabric 
for defects at the same time that it is being ''dusted." 

N. S. E. 
BRINGING WORK WITHIN REACH 

THE ease with which a machine operator may 
repeat an action over and over again and not know 
that she is doing it in an expensive, awkward way is 
well illustrated by the case of one factory operator 
pictured on the next page. The young lady had been 
at this particular operation for three years before the 
management increased the effectiveness of her work 
by placing the metal trough as shown. 

Formerly, every time she took a piece of material 
to put it into the machine she was reaching from two 
to three times as far for her work as was necessary. 
At that time part of her work was in the trough 
behind the machine and part of it at the end of the 
machine. Consequently every reach was not only an 
arm reach but a body reach, as it was necessary for 
her to bend her whole body to get the part which she 
needed. 

''Our first move," explained the superintendent, 
"was to bring the work nearer the needle. This was 
accomplished by making sheet-iron holders to fit the 
parts necessary for the particular operation. One of 
these was attached to the center of the machine head 



116 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 




HER WORK IS CLOSE AT HAND 

Before the sheet-iron shelves or holders were put up this operator used to spend a 

large proportion of her time and effort in reaching. Now she does nearly half 

again as much work and with far less fatigue 

and the other placed on a stand of band iron sloping 
down to a point about four inches above the needle 
at the left of the machine. 

''This is well brought out in the picture. It 
reduced the arm reach to about a third of what it was 
before and eliminated the body reach entirely. The 
effect of these simple changes on the output of this 
operator the first week was an increase of 25%." 

Often an incredible amount of good can be done 
by stopping to analyze the simplest sort of motion 
required in operating a machine. This particular case 
is typical of savings that can be effected by a little 
thought along the line of bringing the work, the 
machine, and the operator closer together, r. v. w. 

"LAST PIECE IN LAST PIECE OUT" 

I AST piece in, first piece out," represents a condition 
-^ in a great many manufacturing plants that is 
sometimes exceedingly hard to prevent. Take the 
question of bins which are so commonly used for 




CONVEYORS THAT HELP ASSEMBLE 

Cans come in on one line of conveyors and boxes along another. Where they meet, 

the can goes into the box and a third conveyor takes them to a boxing machine 

which nails the covers on. See page 65 for item 




KEEPING THE BUDGET BEFORE THE MEN 

Each department in the shop nas a ooard like this to let its men know how their 

production compares in cost with what it ought to be. See page 109 for item 



117 




IT'S EASY TO HANDLE THIS DRILL 

A home-made frame of pipe and pipe fittings allows the air drill to swing as desired, 

making the whole operation quick and easy. See page 15 7 for item 

lis 



LABOR SAVERS 



119 



holding materials between operations. Under normal 
conditions the last piece one puts in is the first that 
he takes out again. This is not a good condition and 
was prevented by the management in one factory 
through a peculiar cover for these bins. The idea 
of the cover is shown clearly in the illustration. Briefly, 
it is a cover designed to fit either the top of the bin 
or one of the two sides, but never permitting both sides 
to be closed at once. As can be seen from the picture, 
the top or a portion of one side of the bin is left 




FILLING AND EMPTYING PROCEED ALTERNATELY 

Where ordinary bins are used for storage betv^reen operations the last material in is 

the first out. The pivoted top as shown in the sketch prevents this and provides 

that material goes through in "commercial order" 

open except as it is closed by the removable top. This 
entirely covers the top of the box or may be slid to 
one side and then swung on a pivot to the vertical 
plane to cover the side opening. 

Thus the box is open either at the top or at the 
side, but never at both at once. Goods are put in at 
the top from one side only and when the box is filled 
the top ds closed and the opposite side opened, from 
which the goods are removed. Each bin is completely 



120 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



emptied once it is started. In this way none of the 
material becomes sidetracked by getting into un- 
touched layers of a pile. 

A bin or hamper of this sort is a great help in permit- 
ting orderly progression of factory work. By reversing 
the confusing order of things the first material dumped 
into the bins becomes the first taken out and the last 
in is the last out. n. c. f. 



Scrap Stock 



Punch Press 

d) 



M 



(^ © 



6 i 



MAKING HEADS SAVE HEELS 

OFTEN a simple and inexpensive rearrangement of 
machines and benches will make a decided change 
in the cost of an operation. Take for example the 
before and after arrangement of this punch-press. 

By the old method, two workmen were required. 
Operator A picked up a strip of metal from the pile 

at ''l/'turned to position 
"2" and punched one 
row of holes. He then 
reversed the stock at posi- 
tion ''3," moved it back 
to "2," punched a second 
row of holes and set the 
work down at ''4." Oper- 
ator B picked up the 
strips from position '^4," 
transferred them to the 
bench at ''5" and wired 
them together in bundles 
of 25 so that they could 
be conveniently moved. 
With the new arrange- 
ment, operator B is dis- 
pensed with. Operator 
A now picks up the stock 
at "1," passes it through 



Former Method 



Bench 



Punch Press 



stock 



• • 
A 

New Method 




©Truck 



CUTTING LABOR IN TWO 
By rearranging the positions of stock and 
punch-press, and substituting a truck for 
a bench, a helper's time was eliminated. 
Also the better arrangement enabled the 
operator hinvself to turn out more punch- 
ings in the same time 



LABOR SAVERS 121 

the press to position '*2," back again through the press 
from "2" to "3" and deposits the strips on a truck 
close beside him at position ''4." 

The time saved by operator A was 18.5% and as was 
said, the entire time of the helper was done away with. 
The total time for the operation, which previously 
required 34 3-5 seconds, has been reduced to 28 1-5 
seconds. 

This plan is obviously adapted to many operations, 
but is used surprisingly little. There are few places 
where at least one operation cannot be eliminated by 
a little thought and imagination. l. i. j. 

COUNTING SMALL PARTS RAPIDLY 

THE All-Steel-Equipment Company manufactures 
many small parts for the trade which are packed in 
cartons holding a hundred each. The actual counting 
of these parts when cartons are filled has been in the 
past a matter involving considerable time and a certain 
degree of inaccuracy. To overcome these factors a 
counting tray, as shown in the illustration on page 
161, has been devised which not only hastens the opera- 
tion but eliminates most of the errors involved in the 
count. The tray, which is made of thin sheet steel, 
measures 18 x 24 inches. It is 9 inches deep on the 
back and slopes to a 3-inch depth in front where an 
outlet is provided that leads to a basket rack for 
holding the carton in position. A moveable ''wing" 
permits of the outlet opening being closed in case it is 
desired to carry the partially filled tray from one place 
to another. 

In operation the method of handling is exceedingly 
simple. The operator is seated before the tray which 
may contain several hundred of the small parts to be 
counted and boxed. An empty carton is placed in the 
rack. The counting is done by fives — the operator 



122 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

using the thumb and forefinger of the right hand and 
three fingers of the left hand in order to separate five 
parts, or pieces, from the pile in the tray. As soon as 
these have been laid hold of, the hands are brought 
forward and the pieces are swept through the opening 
in the front of the tray following which they fall into 
the carton. Twenty motions of the arms results in 
exactly 100 parts being swept into the box. With a 
little experience the work can be done with great 
rapidity and with slight chance of error. o. c. 

INSPECTING SMALL PARTS EASILY 

TO make the inspection of small parts a task which 
could be done quickly, accurately and without 
undue fatigue, one company constructed special 




THE END IS SPEED AND ACCURACY 

Work is less fatiguing at this conveniently arranged table, and the inspector can 
segregate repairable parts 



LABOR SAVERS 123 

tables which it has found most satisfactory. Some of 
the ideas incorporated in these tables, one of which is 
illustrated on the opposite page, are well worth the 
consideration of factory men. 

In the first place, the feed chute is equipped with a 
sliding door to retard the flow of parts to the table. 
Then guide strips fixed on the surface keep the parts 
from falling off the table and also keep them within 
easy reach of the inspector. 

One of the chutes leading to the deep tote boxes, 
under the table illustrated, is for acceptable parts. 
The other is provided for those parts which, though 
faulty, can be put in acceptable condition by the 
repair man. All parts rejected are thrown into the 
table-high boxes on the right of the inspector. 

Work may be rejected for several reasons, and it is 
necessary to the best production methods to know 
what proportion of rejects are traceable to each fault 
in manufacture. 

The height of the table and the position of the chutes 
are designed to reduce to a minimum the fatiguing 
effect of the work. c. s. d. 

HOW TO PAINT SMALL BOLT HEADS 

ANY manufacturers of steel products — such as 
office furniture, cabinets and wardrobes — make 
no effort to paint the heads of the bolts that are used 
owing to the fact that such work involves ordinarily 
an expenditure of time that seems quite out of propor- 
tion to its value. The All-Steel-Equipment Company, 
however, uses a method for handling such work which 
is very simple and effective. A sheet of thin steel, 
about 24 x 36 inches, in size, as shown in the illustration 
on page 161, is perforated with holes of proper diameter 
to admit the bolts. Into each of these holes a bolt is 
slipped. When the openings are all filled, 1,800 bolt 



124 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

heads are in position for painting, which can be done 
either by a brush or with a spray without Hability of 
the paint getting into the threads of the bolts on the 
under side. When the form is being filled the sheet 
of perforated steel is laid upon an open rack which 
holds it securely in a horizontal position. It requires 
about 40 minutes to fill a form holding 1,800 bolts. 

o. c. 

THE BICYCLE WHEEL HOLDS THE WORK 

SMALL pieces of odd shapes are sometimes hard 
to handle and to feed through machines. The 
Amphion Piano Player Company was annoyed by this 
difficulty until it found a method of feeding so simple 
that it should be applicable in many other operations. 

The pieces to be handled consist of small wooden 
blocks which must have a shallow slot cut along the 
two opposite sides. The slotters are a pair of horizon- 
tal circular saws, far enough apart so that the blocks 
pass between them horizontally and have both slots 
cut at once. Each little block is hollow and is really 
only a shell; therefore neither slot must be too deep, 
otherwise it will go through the side of the shell and 
leave a hole which is not permissible, for the wooden 
shell is to form an air chamber to regulate the striking 
of a piano note. 

The blocks therefore have to be fed through the 
machine by a guide in the shape of a channel iron, so 
that the pieces cannot deviate to one side or the other. 
The difficulty was to hold the pieces down on the bed 
of the channel while they were passing through the 
machine between the two slotters. The top of the 
block is not quite flat, but has a lip protruding upwards 
near one edge. This prevented the use of a flat clamp 
or holder. Holding the pieces down with the fingers 
between the cutting blade was awkward, dangerous 
and too slow. 



LABOR SAVERS 125 

An ordinary bicycle wheel, with a pneumatic tire, 
as shown on page 161, solved the problem. The wheel 
was mounted in a bearing supported by rods, above 
the table of the machine. The center Ime of the axis 
is just far enough above the table so that the bicycle 
tire at its lowest point presses firmly upon the wooden 
pieces as they come through the machine. The 
pressure is similar to that of human fingers. The 
slight lip protruding above the top of the block does 
not interfere with holding, for the elastic air-fiUed tire 
yields to it without losing either contact or pressure. 
Occasionally when the feed gives a little trouble, 
the tire is pumped up again and the trouble disappears 
as it is usually due to wrong pressure upon the work. 

p. F. 9. 



CONTENTS— SECTION IX 

WAGE-PAYMENT PLANS AND MAIN- 
TAINING EFFICIENCY 

Tightening Up on Punctuality 127 

A Diary for Office Employees 128 

Capitalizing the Noon-Hoxu" 128 

Making "O.K.'s" Uniform 130 

One Way to Catch Complaints 130 

Responsibility Makes Bigger Men 131 

Now His Clerk Never Forgets 132 

Tell Who Your Visitors Are 133 

Wider Use for Technical Magazines 133 

Selling Safety to Workers 133 

Helping Foremen to Remember 134 

Avoiding Class Distinctions 136 

Getting More Reporters ' 136 

Resting without Interrupting the Work 137 

Helping Your Men Suggest 138 

Appealing to the Truck Driver's Pride 139 

See also items in other sections: 

Cooling the Tempering Room 24 

Lighting AH Parts of the Work 30 

Eliminates Vapor in Processing Room 39 

Saving Time-Clock Minutes 50 



126 




SECTION IX 

WAGE-PAYMENT PLANS AND MAINTAINING 
EFFICIENCY 

TIGHTENING UP ON PUNCTUALITY 

^NE manufacturer whose employees often forgot 
to ring their clock cards got results by posting 
near the exit a large sign which read: ''Did you 
ring your clock card?" To keep the employees aware 
of the sign and to prevent it from becoming a land- 
mark, it was illuminated one day by a red light, the 
next by a blue light, the next by a red light, and so on. 
This idea works very effectively. 

Then there was the matter of tardiness, which 
became very troublesome. It was remedied by the 
following method : The card racks were closed promptly 
at the beginning of the factory hours. 

All employees who were late were then obliged to 
come to the office to report. They were then given a 
red card, which was placed in the rack in place of 
their regular card. 

This card marked them as being late and they kept 
the card for the rest of the week. If during that week 
they were late again they were docked half an hour, 
and for every time they were late thereafter they were 
docked double the amount. 

That this worked well is putting it mildly. The 
colored card makes the tardy one a marked man — for 
so many employees think that they can get by — and 
his record is watched closely. n. a. m 

127 



128 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

A DIARY FOR OFFICE EMPLOYEES 

THE Western Electric Company places a cloth- 
bound diary in the hands of every office employee 
outside of file clerks and others whose work is of a 
routine small-unit-job nature. Each one receiving 
such a book sets down a record of all work done each 
day, together with any remarks that may seem essential 
for future reference. 

One reason for establishing the ''Diary Habit" is 
that the time of each man in each department must 
be charged to the proper account, such as analysis, for 
example. For that reason each job must be listed 
under the proper head, and followed by a notation of 
the time spent on it. 

But the real value of the book is that the employee 
has a check upon his own work. Any question of 
receipt or completion of a job is quickly answered by a 
glance at the book. There is no need to run through 
a lot of records or to bother with red tape, when a job 
is being traced. j. c. n. 

CAPITALIZING THE NOON-HOUR 

WITH the demand for greater individual produc- 
tion some means of training every worker in the 
knowledge of his job is absolutely necessary. 

The Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company 
realizes the value of training each worker in the plant, 
and in line with the thought that an economy of time 
and money must be expended to this end, has developed 
a plan for using the noon-hour as a time for pleasure- 
coated employee training. 

The managers hit upon movable movies, a lantern- 
slide projector to put across the ideas and, at the same 
time, to furnish enough pleasure to keep the workers 
eager for the noon-hour's '^ picture show." Each noon 
the machine is moved to a different department. 



PAYMENT AND EFFICIENCY PLANS 129 




SHOWING THEM HOW TO DO IT 
After the workers have watched these sUdes for 15 minutes or so they begin to 
fully realize how much they don't know about their individual jobs— and then they 
determine to follow up what they learn from the machine in their everyday work 

What do they see? 

Such matters as new construction, new designs of 
apparatus, new machines, features of interest in pro- 
duction, recreational activities, products in manu- 
facture with an explanation as to the purposes and 
uses of those products, results and activities of the 
product out in the field, athletic activities, and all other 
points that could possibly be of interest to the em- 
ployees are shown. 

Has the company found the sUdes successful? Yes, 
indeed. In the words of the educational director, 
"We have found that moving pictures, especially when 
automatically projected, attract and retain attention 
until an entire series of news has been shown." 

When the workers have been interested to that 
extent, the chances for their successful training are 
greatly improved. '^' ^* S* 



130 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

MAKING "O.K.'S" UNIFORM 

VARIOUS factory records, as a rule, are o.k.*d 
by foremen and other head men only. A little 
uniformity in the method in which the o.k. is applied 
saves the Bessemer Gas Engine Company considerable 
time. This company sent out elaborate yet clear 
instructions to foremen regarding o.k.'ing of time cards, 
so that the pay clerks might understand the marking. 
Some of the instructions follow: 

"When the ringing on the clock is entirely regular, 
merely put your o.k. and initials on the Sunday line. 

"If the workman has forgotten to ring 'in' overtime 
and aims to show that he worked from 1 : 00 to overtime 
'out,' draw a line from afternoon 'in' to overtime 
'out' and write your initials over it. 

" Should any space not have been rung, write your 
initials in it, thus showing that the time should be 
counted for the regular period of that space. 

"Night foremen are requested to have their men 
ring 'in' and 'out' under overtime." 

This is one example showing how clearly some 
executives realize the importance of uniform o.k.'s. 
In this manner considerable time is saved and routine 
work is greatly simplified. g. m. h. 

ONE WAY TO CATCH COMPLAINTS 

THE timekeeper of an eastern metal-truck concern 
used to have from three to a dozen callers in his 
office every pay day after the envelops were distributed. 
Their errand was to protest a mistake made in com- 
puting their pay and to secure a little more money they 
felt was due them. Usually the timekeeper had little 
difficulty in proving that the men themselves were in 
error. The principal cause of the trouble was the con- 
fusion on the piece-work rates of the various castings 
and the operations on them. 



PAYMENT AND EFFICIENCY PLANS 131 

A little thought resulted in the making use of a little 
plan which has served its purpose well and has cut 
down the former weekly visits to a very low figure. A 
small rubber stamp was secured with the word ''Rate" 
on it a half-dozen times and space enough after each 
one for the piece-rate on the operation to be inserted. 
This stamp is pressed on the back of each traveler that 
leaves the superintendent's office and the time clerk 
fills in the price of each operation necessary to com- 
plete the job covered by the traveler. Very seldom are 
more than six operations necessary, but in case there 
are seven or more the stamp is used twice. Each man 
handling the material covered by the traveler can 
simply turn it over and see without trouble what the 
rate for drilling, reaming, threading, and so forth, is at 
that time. 

There is a httle time required on the part of the 
timekeeper, but he is satisfied to use the plan since it 
has taken away very unpleasant work. s. e. s. 

RESPONSIBILITY MAKES BIGGER MEN 

ONE of the best ways to develop a man's capabihty 
for assuming responsibility is to make his the 
sole responsibility for a job. Having acquitted him- 
self with credit in one position, he has attained a 
broadened experience, he has developed a changed 
mental aspect toward his work, he has become sobered. 
Then he is ready to assume more and greater respon- 
sibility. 

A poster placed in view of the worker, and reminding 
him that he is in charge, makes him realize that he 
really has a duty and a trust. He knows also that his 
fellow-workers recognize his responsibility. In that 
sense, cards of this kind have been mutually beneficial 
in the plant of the Hydraulic Pressed Steel Company. 
They have given the company a means of visually 



132 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 




OFFICIALLY IN CHARGE OF THE JOB 
This man takes more pride in his work because his responsibility is "published to 

the world" 

expressing an appreciation of the worker's responsi- 
bility. They have helped to make the worker worth 
more to himself and to the company. s. a. 

NOW HIS CLERK NEVER FORGETS 

NEARLY every factory office has a tickler or follow- 
up file in which are placed all the correspondence 
and notes that have been set ahead for futm^e reference. 
But, unless these files are consulted regularly the first 
thing every single day, they are likely to be worth Httle 
or nothing. One New England factory office manager 
had a clerk of the type that had to be reminded to look 
in the follow-up file. He used an interesting little 
device to remind her of the file the first thing every 
morning. 

On the post immediately below the hook on which 
the clerk hung her hat every morning, he had tacked 
a small typewritten card to remind her that her first 
duty w^s to look in the follow-up file. By placing the 



PAYMENT AND EFFICIENCY PLANS 133 

card immediately below the hat hook, the hat or coat 
hanging on the hook covered up the card during the 
day. It performed its service the first thing in the 
morning and then retired from view. c. a. a. 

TELL WHO YOUR VISITORS ARE 

n^HERE is always more or less talk among the 
-a- workers in a plant as to who the various visitors are. 
The management of Cluett, Peabody and Company 
devotes a portion of the space in each issue of its shop 
paper to the names of people who have recently visited 
the plant. If the curiosity of the workers during the 
visit is any criterion, this section of the paper will be 
read with considerable interest. c. p. c. 

WIDER USE FOR TECHNICAL MAGAZINES 

IN one plant the technical magazines which are 
1 received are first read by the engineers in the office. 
They are then placed in a box made especially for this 
purpose, at the employees' entrance. Any worker 
may take one at a time home, and after reading it, 
return it to the box so other employees may read it. 

c. T. 

SELLING SAFETY TO WORKERS 

A PROFITABLE plan is being used in the General 
-^^ Electric Company, to keep the safety idea ever 
before the eyes of the workers. Believing in the old 
adage that experience is the best teacher, the medical 
department takes advantage of the workman when he 
comes to the hospital or dressing room for treatment, 
by demonstrating the use of various safety devices 
which will prevent him from having this same accident 
again. 

A display case is fitted out with hand protectors, 
canvas and leather, for men handling rough castings, 



134 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

scrap, and so forth; leather mitten for same use in 
winter; asbestos mitten for handling hot materials; 
tongs for pulling and replacing high-voltage fuses; 
tongs for pulling and replacing low-voltage fuses such 
as are commonly found on machine tools, and so forth; 
goggles, cap for women employees; knuckle guard for 
wheelbarrows or 2-wheel trucks; respirator; foundry 
shoe; foundry legging; safety set-screws; and an 
individual sputum cup. This case can be easily taken 
down from the wall so the physician can explain the 
use of any one article to the workman. 

All of these articles are supplied free of charge to 
the employees, but must be returned when he leaves the 
company. Otherwise they are charged off on his last 
week's pay check. 

The case is so located that all but the most severely 
injured employees are obliged to stand or sit directly 
before it while a record of the injury is taken. In this 
way ample opportunity is afforded the workman to 
ask any question he may desire, or for the physician 
to offer any suggestions. i. w. a. 

HELPING FOREMEN TO REMEMBER 

OFTEN the wide-awake factory man can borrow an 
idea that he can use from the sales department. 
The following incident shows how one man did it 
with advantage. 

The sales department of this factory had in opera- 
tion a follow-up system in which the salesman recorded 
on an index card the date and subject of any matter 
which he desired brought to his attention later on. 

This card was filed away by a clerk who placed it 
behind the tab indicating the date it was to be brought 
to the salesman's attention. This method eliminated 
all of the uncertainty and possibilities for oversight 
which the individual desk calendar gives. 



PAYMENT AND EFFICIENCY PLANS 135 

The system worked out so well in the sales depart- 
ment that the factory manager suggested, at one of 
the conferences, that a similar scheme be placed at the 
disposal of his various shop heads and foremen, since 
these men frequently found it necessary to plan ahead 
and to look up result or other data at some future 
date. 

Usually the foremen did not have the advantage 
of the office facilities and assistance offered in the 



Month. 



^..^^J. nay V/ Year /?Z^/ 



Mr 



On the above date bring to the attention of 




-Department 
the matter nf ^cy^^Ji^^ ^u^ .^^A^u^-^yCoc-^^^.^-^^.^.,^^ 

^*t^ ^-^^PgS^ ^.^^i^?f*- fP^T^ ^^,>t>zV,^<z^^^,^a^ /p^-/y 
natfi ^/x-ff^^/ Signed jA^y^^ 




DOING AWAY WITH FORGETFULNESS 

No more "I forgot" statements are made in this factory office. The above card 

is always "on the job" to follow up men with unreliable memories 

office proper, and since they had to rely on their own 
memories or notations for these "follow-up" or 
''tickler" notices, quite often important matters were 
overlooked or forgotten. 

Consequently these "bring to my attention" cards, 
one of which is shown above, were delivered to 
the various shop heads and foremen. The index 
system was placed in charge of one of the shop office 
clerks, so that now these men can arrange for future 



136 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

plans, or checking up, without being under the strain 
of carrying the detail as to dates and similar memo- 
randa in their memory or scattered note books. 

N. B. s. 

AVOIDING CLASS DISTINCTIONS 

TOO much attention cannot be given to the avoid- 
ance of making distinctions betwen office and 
factory workers. 

In a recent parade in a small Ohio town, all of the 
employees of one plant, office and factory, participated. 

The president of the company arranged for auto- 
mobiles to transport the office women. In the shop 
are also many women workers, but the discrimination 
did not occur to the president until one of the women 
executives tactfully suggested it to him. 

"Why not let the office girls walk, too?" she asked. 
"I'm sure they will be willing to do so, and the girls in 
the shop will feel so much better about it." 

"Yes, and, by George, I'll head the procession," 
said the president. 

The force turned out 100% strong, all on foot. 
After that there were no such distinctions made in 
that company and the workers are better satisfied. 

o. R. B. 

GETTING MORE REPORTERS 

INSTEAD of asking for volunteer reporters for an 
indefinite period, the editor of the shop paper at 
the Western Clock Company has the foreman of each 
department appoint one of the workers to gather news 
for three months. When this period is up the editor 
sends a note to the foreman asking him to thank the 
reporter for his services and to appoint another. 

At the same time the reporter gets a letter from the 
editor saying that he has appreciated his cooperation 



PAYMENT AND EFFICIENCY PLANS 137 

and service and hopes that he will help the new reporter 
by continuing to turn in items. 

While it is not an inflexible rule, the editor also 
indicates to the foreman that it may be preferable to 
appoint a woman for one term, a man the next, and thus 
alternate back and forth, especially in departments 
where the women workers are about equal in number 
to the men. 

The reporter turns the items over to the editor 
through the foreman. By making the foreman thus 
partially responsible for obtaining news he is more 
likely to follow up the reporter to see that items are 
turned in. 

The name of the reporter is also printed with each 
department's news. This mention is considered as an 
honor by the workers. p. v. t. 

RESTING WITHOUT INTERRUPTING THE WORK 

WHERE a woman operator has to remain in one 
position at her work for a great length of time 
both the operator and the work suffer. At the plant 
of Cluett, Peabody, and Company, Incorporated, the 
girls use a collapsible table and adjustable foot rest as 
shown in the two illustrations on the next page. When 
she stands at her bench she works on a little table as 
shown at the left. If she wishes to be seated at her 
work the small table collapses as the right-hand view 
clearly illustrates, thus giving her a convenient work 
space. The feet rest on an adjustable swinging foot 
rest, as the girls are seated on high legged chairs. 

By using this collapsible bench the work is of the 
same relative height whether the operator is standing 
or sitting down. In this way she can work in either 
position with equal facility. She does not have to 
stoop or bend to her work if she desires to stand a few 
minutes for a change, which gives her a good rest. 



138 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 




MAKING STANDING EASY 

Workers who sit most of the time often 

are refreshed by standing up a while. 

This table brings the work to proper 

height 



RESTING WHEN SEATED 
Here the same small table is seen fold- 
ed, thus providing a convenient work 
space. An adjustable foot rest prevents 
the feet from tiring 



The principle of this little idea is particularly good 
because it prevents fatigue without really interrupting 
the work. n. y. t. 



HELPING YOUR MEN SUGGEST 

VALUABLE suggestions come from the workers 
in any kind of manufacture. Recognizing this, 
many plant managers arrange to have their men help 
in making suggestions. For example, the Minneapolis 
Steel and Machinery Company explains to its em- 
ployees that its foreman or department head stands 
ready to help them get their suggestions into good 
shape for the suggestion contest which is carried on. 

There is also a suggestion secretary, part of whose 
job is helping in the same way. Any employee is 
urged to telephone this secretary or leave a call for 



PAYMENT AND EFFICIENCY PLANS 139 

him and he will arrange a meeting at which the man 
will be helped in bringing his suggestion ''right down 
to brass tacks." 

The personal touch not only gives the worker more 
enthusiasm toward thinking out and suggesting to the 
company practical plans, but helps the manager also, 
because when the sketches or descriptions are turned 
in, they are in better shape for quick and thorough 
examination. h. f. a 

APPEALING TO THE TRUCK DRIVER'S PRIDE 

^S an aid to making its drivers realize that it is to 
their advantage to keep their trucks in good run- 
ning order all the time, one factory paints the driver's 
name on his truck. His name also appears over his 
parking space in the garage and just below the number 
of the truck on the report sheet. 

It makes a driver feel pretty good when he takes out 
his truck in the morning and sees ''Tom's Truck" 
printed underneath the concern's name on the truck. 
Then at night when he puts the truck away he is con- 
fronted with the notice: "This space is for Tom's 
Truck." When he makes out his report he sees under 
''Truck 122," "Tom's Truck." 

All these repeated appearances of his name make 
him feel that he has a special interest in his truck and 
that he ought to keep it up. The cost of keeping the 
trucks up has been reduced considerably and the 
garage superintendent has noticed a better feeling 
among the drivers. b. l. b. 



CONTENTS— SECTION X 



TIME SAVERS 

Saving the Operator's Time 141 

Sewing Two Seams at Once 142 

Sorting Assembly Work 143 

One Day Saved in Getting Raw Material 144 

Saving Space in Drying. . 145 

Saving Time on Lathe Work 146 

Saving Time with a Spade 147 

Saving Time When Testing 147 

Where Broomsticks Save Money 148 

Supplying Drivers with Maps 149 

Saving Time, Shoe Leather and Confusion 150 

Hurrying Oil with Heat 151 

Making Work Easy to Handle 152 

Pasting Labels without Soiling 153 

This Rack Cuts Waste 154 

Making Repainting Unnecessary 155 

Using Gages Economically 156 

Home-Made Mounting for Studding Tool 157 

Handling Coal Continuously 157 

Signals That Prevent Delay 158 

A Perpetual Sorting Index 159 

Saving Wasted Phone Time 160 

How to Plan Your Routing 163 

Loading Cars Quickly 163 

Platting the Factory Floor 164 

How Soundproof Offices Help 164 

Work Boxes That Form a Bench 165 

Reading Water Gages Easily 166 

See also items in other sections: 

Using Four Sides of a Rack 36 

Turning Trucks into "Assembly Rooms" 56 

No Rehandling Here 62 

140 



SECTION X 



TIME SAVERS 



SAVING THE OPERATOR'S TIME 

THE immediate necessity of increasing the output 
of a paper-box factory was the cause of an investi- 
gation that uncovered leaks in all departments. 
One of these deficiencies was the fact that the girl 
machine-operators had to leave their machines to obtain 
the stock which was kept in an adjoining room. There 
stood the idle machines while the operator took her 
time to secure raw stock, and, as was frequently the 
case, to visit with another operator. 

The superintendent hired two eight-hour boys to 
do all of the carrying for the operators in this depart- 
ment. These boys supphed the operators with the 
baskets into which to put their finished product and 
took away the baskets that the operators had filled. 

Before this change, one of the operators was seen 
to take as long as 15 minutes in her search for an 
empty basket. There were more than enough baskets 
supphed, but everybody used them and left them hi no 
specific place. 

This change resulted in a pronounced increase in 
the production of this department. More boxes meant 
less overhead charges per box. This decrease far more 
than covered the added labor cost of the two boys 
carrying. 

Then, after a few months of operation under this 
plan, the work had become so well defined that it was 

141 



142 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

found that one of the experienced boys alone could 
handle the material and the baskets for all of the 
operators. To lighten the work for him as much as 
possible, the baskets were made of thin sheets of fiber 
on a light wooden frame. u. s. s. 

SEWING TWO SEAMS AT ONCE 

THE principle of doing duplicate processes at the 
same time is used in machine shops, but some indus- 
tries do not apply it. However, a foreman in the 
Graton & Knight Manufacturing Company who knew 
more or less about machine shop methods found a 
simple way of applying this principle of duplicate 
work to his own production. 

This department of the company cuts and sews 
short leather straps that are used for trunk handles. 
Some of these straps are built up to a thickness of half 
an inch. In building them up, the strips or layers, 
already cut to shape, are laid on top of one another 
and then all are sewed together along each edge with a 
coarse thread. 

When a machine with one needle was used, the strap 
had to be run through the machine twice. This seemed 
to the foreman a waste of time; it was an extra run 
through the machine. So he adapted a machine to 
run two needles at once, spaced an inch or so apart 
according to the width of the strap. Now the strap 
has both sides stitched by running it once through the 
machine. 

The next strap is then pushed in right behind the 
preceding one, without breaking the thread or waiting 
to turn the strap around. In this way the straps 
can be sewed in a continuous stream. One man's 
output on this machine is much more than double 
what it was on the single-needle machine, for he not 
only saves running the material once through the 



TIME SAVERS 



143 



machine, but he saves two handlings of the product in 
process. 

The double machine is a little harder to take care 
of and requires a careful man to use it, but with ordi- 
nary care in selecting workmen and inspecting the 
machine, good results are secured. p. p. o. 



SORTING ASSEMBLY WORK 

ALTHOUGH the particular operation described 
-^^ here is extremely special, nevertheless, the way it 
has been worked out is likely to suggest many adapta- 
tions to other processes of assembly. 

The illustration shows one part of the assembly 
process in the manufacture of a piano. As the small 
valve blocks come within reach of the operator she 
must pick them up and select from the bins in front 
of her the particular thickness of disc needed to go 
with that special piece. If she had to go through the 
routine of figuring it out each time, the work would 
become monotonous and would slow down consider- 




THIS POINTER DESIGNATES THE BIN 
By holding the block in this gage the operator can read directly the required thick- 
ness of the stems. She need only reach in the proper bin to secure it. No cal- 
culation is necessary 



144 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

ably. Instead of this she uses a spring gage with a 
pointer. Every time she picks up a piece she inserts 
it in this spring gage. Automatically the pointer 
indicates the number of the bin containing the right 
thickness disc for that particular piece. It is never 
necessary to make a false move. It is just such little 
things as this that in the aggregate cut down the time 
necessary to assemble small factory products. 

J. E. G. 
ONE DAY SAVED IN GETTING RAW MATERIAL 

THE superintendent of a concern that uses a large 
supply of iron and steel bars found that many 
shipments directed to the firm were being held at the 
railroad platform for a day, and sometimes two, 
because the teamster who held the trucking contract 
of the firm found the handling of them a tedious job. 

The bars measured from 18 to 20 feet long, and if 
put inside the freight house would make it hard for the 
men to get at other goods placed there. When they 
were unloaded from the car, they were placed in the 
nearest vacant spot, which usually happened to be 
alongside the wall of the freight house. This compelled 
the teamster to pull the bars through the house, a 
distance of 40 feet, in order to get the material on his 
wagon. 

After the matter was explained to the manager he 
agreed to send a man to the freight house, when a 
shipment of bars came in, to help the driver load up. 
The shipments now receive prompt attention, as it is 
to the interest of the driver to get them as soon as they 
are placed outside the cars. This immediate atten- 
tion prevents other goods from being piled on them. 
The help the driver gets from the man sent to him 
insures the work being done quickly, so in all, a day or 
two is saved in the handling time. M. f. M. 



TIME SAVERS 



145 



SAVING SPACE IN DRYING 

THE drying of lacquered pieces is a slow job at any 
time and may be the one job that is holding up 
production. The illustration reproduced below shows 
a home-made device that the Eastman Kodak Company 
is using to hurry up the drying of lacquered ends of 
cameras. The drying duct consists of a cornucopia 
of sheet metal with an electric fan in the end of it. 
The lacquered pieces are pushed in at the small end 
of the duct by hand and moved along. They are 
exposed to the dry air in the duct and then are pushed 
under the fan and fall off the end of the board into 
a box. 

The pieces are dried when the fresh air from the 
fan reaches them and so the very last bit of moisture 




THE FAN SPEEDS UP THE DRYING PROCESS 
Before this electric fan and metal shield were used, it was necessary to spread these 
camera pieces out on tables for slow drying. Now both space and time are saved 

is removed. The air that goes over the wet pieces 
just entering the small end of the cornucopia has 
already taken up some moisture but still has a drying 
effect on the very wet pieces; As this end is smaller, 
the velocity of air hastens the removal of the moisture. 



146 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

The use of this device has saved time in drying and 
has reduced the amount of money paid for labor in 
handUng these pieces. Also the space occupied by 
this department has been reduced because it was 
formerly necessary to spread the pieces over tables 
to dry. p. F. o. 

SAVING TIME ON LATHE WORK 

A CONCERN which makes machinery on which 
there is a great deal of lathe work has found that 
the substitution of turret lathes for engine lathes will 
speed up many of its operations. With the engine 
lathe the operator places the tool in the tool post and, 
after the work has been properly mounted on the face 
plate, makes a trial cut, calipers the piece, adjusts the 
tool, and repeats the process until the correct size is 
reached. 

As the tool nears the end of the cut the operator 
stops the machine, measures the work to see whether 
the cut is long or deep enough or not, and then repeats 
the process until the correct length of cut has been 
made. 

Whenever it is necessary to change the tool, to per- 
form some other type of operation, the whole process 
must be repeated, and, of course, the cycle is gone over 
for each piece made. 

With the turret lathe the first set-up takes longer 
than the set-up on an engine lathe. After the set-up 
has been made, however, and the machine turned over 
to the operator, he has only to feed the turret and 
tools forward to make the cuts. While this change has 
resulted in increased production for the same man- 
power on many jobs, the company has not by any 
means changed over all lathes. There are many 
operations for which an engine lathe is necessary and 
the most economical. c. h. a. 



TIME SAVERS 147 

SAVING TIME WITH A SPADE 

ALTHOUGH the ordinary spade is not commonly 
J\ part of a truck driver's equipment, some have 
found it useful to have along, in case of emergency. 
The careful truck driver, particularly if he has ever 
needed something to shovel with and not had it, has 
considerable respect for this ordinary garden tool. 

Many drivers who are called on to make trips over 
country roads feel safer if they have with them a small 
sharp spade with a folding handle which is stowed away 
in some small compartment. When their cars beconae 
stranded in a bad road, miles from the plant, which is 
sure sometime to occur, an expected hold-up of several 
hours is frequently reduced to a minor delay of 10 to 15 

A_ T. F. M. 

minutes. 

SAVING TIME WHEN TESTING 

IN testing steam suppUes and fittings it was neces- 
sary to attach blank flanges to the inlets and out- 
lets. This involved the tightening up and loosening 
of some hundreds of nuts in a day's work. Naturally, 
the time required was an expensive item m comparison 
with the price of the goods. -, j 4. 

It had been the practise to use the standard nut, 
first tightening it up by hand and then using an 
ordinary wrench to complete the operation, iliis 
consumed considerable time in getting the nut started 
and turning it up over the length of the thread. 

After giving the matter considerable thought, one 
of the most satisfactory changes made was to sub- 
stitute in place of the standard nuts a supply of winged 
nuts made up special for the testing floors. _ These 
nuts were provided with two wings or projections on 
each side, extending about one inch in either direction. 
When these were added it was possible quickly to 
slip the nuts onto the bolts and then to twirl them 



148 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

rapidly with the finger until they began to tighten up. 
The pressure of the thumb and fingers on the winged 
nuts enabled the operators to tighten up the blank 
flange and gaskets sufficiently without having to use 
the wrench except occasionally. 

In many other testing operations of this kind or 
where nuts are pulled up for temporary holding 
purposes as in construction work and similar jobs, a 
great saving in time can usually be effected by making 
use of winged nuts instead of the standard square or 
hexagonal nut. n. y. i. 

WHERE BROOMSTICKS SAVE MONEY 

THAT the assembly of small parts is work which, 
unless laid out with the greatest care, wastes an 
enormous amount of time, was particularly noticeable 
in the Victor Gasket and Manufacturing Company. 
Here it is necessary in the assembly of gaskets to put 
an asbestos ring with each copper ring. 

It has long been the custom to do this by laying out 
a number of the copper rings and then putting an 
asbestos ring in exactly the right place on each one. 

The same work is now done by dropping on a long 
rod, similar to a broomstick, the copper rings and the 
asbestos rings alternately. A cross-piece at the bottom 
of the pole keeps them from sliding off. When the 
rod is full it is shaken back and forth, and, as the rod 
is about the diameter of the holes in the rings, the 
asbestos pieces are easily shaken into the right posi- 
tion on the copper rings, so the work at the next 
operation is facilitated. 

The rods are stacked in a rack as each one is filled. 
These racks may be seen in the background of the 
illustration on the opposite page. When a sufficient 
number of these racks are completed, they are loaded 
on a truck for transportation to the next operation. 



TIME SAVERS 



149 




A CHEAP ROD AND ITS VALUE 

Less time and labor is required than before these rods were used, when the rings 

were assembled by pairs on the tables 

This method of handhng the work has reduced the 
number of girls who were formerly required to perform 
this operation. J. e. h. 

SUPPLYING DRIVERS WITH MAPS 

ONE shipping clerk realized that from 10% to 15% 
of his truck drivers' time could be saved if the 
drivers followed the most logical and direct routes 
in making deliveries and collections. Therefore, he 
hit upon the scheme of laying out their work for them. 
From a local stationer he secured a supply of cheap 
outline maps of the city, showing the various streets 
and avenues. Each day the shipping clerk or one of 
his assistants would take one of these maps, and mark 
on it, in red or blue crayon, according to whether it was 



150 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

a delivery or pick up, the various stops which the truck 
was to make. The route which the truck could use 
to best advantage in covering the ground was then 
indicated by a continuous line. The drivers were in 
sympathy with the new plan and used the route charts 
because it made their work easier for them. 

While the marking up of these route charts on these 
simple outline maps of the city undoubtedly takes 
time on the part of the shipping-room force, when it 
is considered that the average motor truck represents 
an outlay of anywhere from $20 a day or upward, it 
will be appreciated that 10 or 15 minutes spent in 
securing the maximum service from it will be an excel- 
lent investment. w. b. s. 

SAVING TIME, SHOE LEATHER AND CONFUSION 

IN the collating of loose-leaf price book sheets one 
manufacturer formerly had the separate sheets, 
totaling about 240, stacked in separate compartments 
of long racks. Girls walked up and down the aisles 
between these racks taking a leaf from each compart- 
ment. At the end of a complete journey a catalog 
would be ready for the binders, with all pages and 
sectional dividers in place. 

This same method is often used when the number of 
catalogs going out is small. When a large quantity 
must be made up it requires a greater number of 
girls. Also to do this work each girl must walk 
continuously. 

To overcome these objections a simpler and quicker 
method was finally devised. While this is used especi- 
ally for making up the sectional catalogs which contain 
various quantities of sheets, from about 16 to 60 
pages, a larger number can be handled by collating 
them in sections. The equipment used for this 
requires fewer girls and eliminates tiresome walking. 



TIME SAVERS 



151 



Here a circular counter or shelf revolves about a 
perpendicular axis. On this are placed small metal 
partitions separated just far enough to accommodate 
the catalog sheets. 

A small electric motor mounted on the ceiling drives 
the revolving counter through a train of gears, and is 
started and stopped by a push button switch. The 




HERE THE WORK IS BROUGHT— NOT WALKED AFTER 

The revolving table — turned by a button-controlled motor — brings each sheet 

before the operator in its proper sequence 

speed is such that it requires a little less than two 
minutes for a revolution. 

Perhaps a similar circular table can be used in 
other plants fol- gathering small parts or for packing, 
or even in some cases for an assembly job. r. v. w. 



HURRYING OIL WITH HEAT 

"GLASSES in January" may soon pass as a 
phrase connoting slow flow, for electric heaters 
of the immersion type are now being applied with 
success to hasten the flow of liquids that become 
viscous at low temperatures. 



152 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

This method has been applied to hasten the unload- 
ing of tank cars of oil. It releases the car sooner, saves 
demurrage charges, and is free from fire risk. 

Similarly it has been applied to accelerate the 
handling of cocoanut oil in tanks and barrels. g. h. t. 

MAKING WORK EASY TO HANDLE 

IN any plant where it is the purpose to cut down all 
useless motion, full advantage is taken of the 
natural shape of the materials and articles that are to 
be handled. An example of how time may be saved 
by following this principle was brought out in a 
motion-study campaign in one machine-manufactur- 
ing plant. 

In one of the departments of this factory there were 
several machines that worked on brass noses which 





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^_- 



TURNING OVER SAVES TIME 

When put in the tray nose up, this brass part was difficult to grasp. Nose down, 

it is easily and quickly handled 

were about the shape of a large-headed rivet with 
thread on the shank. These brass pieces were carefully 
machined and the precision of the work demanded 
that they be handled with the utmost care. For this 
reason a tray was made to handle 16 at a time. Holes 
were bored in this tray so the noses could be set in 
with the shank extending down through the hole, as 
shown in the left-hand part of the sketch reproduced 
above. 



TIME SAVERS 153 

When this plan was put in practise, however, it was 
found that with these brass pieces covered with oil, 
every time a workman wanted to pick one up he 
wasted several moments — it was impossible to get 
hold of the piece quickly. 

The situation was overcome by enlarging each of 
the holes in the tray so that the nose could be set 
in head downward, as illustrated on the right-hand 
side of the sketch. Then it was a simple matter to 
handle the pieces with all the care and speed that was 
necessary. w. a. h. 

PASTING LABELS WITHOUT SOILING 

THE package in which many products leave the 
factory must be labeled. This ordinarily is done 
by means of pasting or gumming a paper label to a 
bottle, box or carton. 

In one chemical works, much of the product of which 
is packed in bottles and small pasteboard boxes, it 
was originally the custom to buy gummed labels. 
This, however, was expensive, so it was decided to 
paste the labels upon the packages. 

When paste was first used the girl who did the 
labeling coated each label separately. It was found 
that this was a slow process, although much cheaper 
than the use of gummed labels. Now the labels are 
coated with paste in a manner which has made a very 
marked saving. 

Paste is applied to a board by means of a brush and 
the labels are laid upon this. Sufficient paste adheres 
to the label when it is picked up to hold it firmly to 
the box. The method is neater and more rapid than 
the old plan, as it is practically impossible for paste 
to get on the wrong side of the label and make a bad- 
looking job. In addition, the coating is found to be 
very uniform. J. h. 



154 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

THIS RACK CUTS WASTE 

IN one shop, every job specification provides for a 
certain number of thread to be used throughout 
the manufacture of the garment. Formerly all sizes 
and colors of thread were supplied to the sewing- 
machine operators in piles placed at intervals along 
the tables. 

But this method was wasteful. Each time an opera- 
tor wanted a certain size thread he had to hunt through 




AN HOUR OF THOUGHT PRODUCED THIS COST SAVER 

Some scrap lumber, a few nails and an idea; that is all that was necessary to make 

this thread rack that has paid for itself many times over. It promotes accuracy 

of selection, quickens the work, and reduces the waste of material 

this confusion of spools. Often he would be unable to 
find what he wanted. At times it was not there. 
When all sizes were thrown together in one pile it 
was impossible to check up on the supply. 

The outgrowth of the apparent necessity for im- 
provement was the rack illustrated above. This 



TIME SAVERS 155 

device is entirely home-made, designed and built 
right in the factory from material on hand. 

A bolt connects the base and the rack proper, so that 
the rack or shelves can be rotated at the convenience 
of the operator. The heads were cut off of different- 
sized nails, which were then driven into the inclined 
shelves to serve as pegs for the spools and bobbins. 
Marked on the wood by each peg is the number of 
the thread to be placed on that peg. To avoid con- 
fusion, these numbers are arranged in the order 
determined by the general run of work as being best 
suited to the needs of the operator. 

The whole rack is of such a size as to be conve- 
niently placed on the table, within easy reach of three or 
four operators. Every morning a boy comes around 
and replaces the spools which have been used the 
day before. So the thread is always there and quickly 
obtained in the proper shade and color. 

The cost of the rack is chiefly the labor of knocking 
it together, an amount so small that it is soon covered 
by the time saved at the machines. s. a 

MAKING REPAINTING UNNECESSARY 

WITH one company building a line of machinery 
and equipment it was customary to make up a 
number of machines for stock purposes. Also many 
completed machines built on special orders were held 
up after completion, due to shipping embargoes, incom- 
plete stage of the plant in which they were to be 
installed, and similar difficulties. While awaiting 
shipment these machines were stored in an outside 
shed which exposed them to sHght exposure and 
weathering. 

It had been the custom of the shops to fully complete 
all machines on the erecting floors, including painting. 
It was found, however, that in the case of the machines 



156 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

that were built for stock, or machines on which imme- 
diate shipping orders were not available, that after 
standing in the storage shed for a few weeks it was 
necessary to repaint the equipment in order to brighten 
it up. This, of course, involved extra time and labor 
which on some of the machines amounted to an 
appreciable sum. 

In view of this necessity for repainting, instructions 
were issued that all equipment, which was made for 
stock purposes or on which immediate shipping instruc- 
tions were not available, should be placed in the storage 
shed without painting. The painting operation was 
held up until the apparatus was ready to go forward 
for shipping. Besides the saving in paint, this revised 
practise relieved the hard-pressed painting and shipping 
force of considerable extra work. Where this is not 
practicable it may be feasible to at least leave the final 
finishing coat until later. w. b. s. 

USING GAGES ECONOMICALLY 

IT frequently happens that a scarcity of tool- and 
gage-makers makes it necessary to use only one set 
of gages for six or seven sets of tools, all running on the 
same job in as many different machines. 

In order to get the best possible results from one 
set of gages, and also to prevent loss of time in looking 
for them when they are not in use, one eastern concern 
has adopted the following plan: 

The set of gages which is available is always kept 
upon the gage hook of the center machine. For 
example, if there are seven machines running on the 
job, the gages are hung on the hook on number 4 
machine. This keeps them within convenient reach 
of all seven machines and is perhaps as good an arrange- 
ment as can be made where only one set of gages is 
available. t. u. c. 



TIME SAVERS 157 

HOME-MADE MOUNTING FOR STUDDING TOOL 

COMPRESSED air drills are used for putting studs 
into the cylinder heads of tractor motors at the 
plant of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company. 
This was formerly done by hand and it required about 
three quarters of an hour to insert the studs into one 
cylinder head. Now the job is accomplished in about 
15 minutes. In order to apply the compressed air 
drill to this job, one device for suspending the drill and 
another for holding the cylinder head were needed. 

The drill suspension is made of pipes and pipe- 
fittings. The photograph reproduced on page 118 
shows clearly how the suspension is effected. The long 
spring at the top of the photograph allows for the 
operator to press down on the drill as the stud is 
inserted. Then when the drill is removed, the spring 
hfts it up out of the way. 

Another feature of this suspension frame is the 
coupling with holes drilled into it and pegs inserted 
into these holes. It is this coupling that makes it 
possible to swing the drill from one side to the other, 
and as the coupling works loose, it is tightened with the 
pegs seen in the picture. 

To hold the cylinder head, a small dolly was made. 
This has a hanger into which the cylinder head can be 
clamped quickly. After the studs have been inserted, 
the dolly, cylinder head and all, is moved along the 
track to another position where the valves are ground 
into place. g. y. b. 

HANDLING COAL CONTINUOUSLY 

AS a result of their suggestion system, one of the 
'^ employees in the paper manufacturing plant of 
the Chemical Paper Manufacturing Company suggested 
an extension in the chute leading from the top of 
number two coal bunker so that this chute now con- 



158 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

tinues beyond the bunker down into the driveway 
outside of the boiler house. There is a shut-off gate 
pivoted at the conjunction of the number two chute 
with its extension, so that when the large bunkers are 
full, the coal may be directed into a truck waiting 
underneath the end of the extended chute in the road- 
way. The truck carries the extra coal to a storage 
pile. Of course, coal has to be sent to the storage pile 
only occasionally. But while the truck and men are 
working at this, they should be working continuously, 
not standing idle, while the truck is going to the pile 
and back. They found that by making the chutes of 
proper capacity and by putting in a sliding door at the 
end of the chute, as shown in the illustration on page 
162, they are now able to operate the conveyor con- 
tinually while the truck is going to the coal pile to 
unload. When the truck comes back half of the load 
is already waiting and is instantly taken aboard by a 
simple opening of the door. This saves considerable 
time. 

It has been found in trying out this idea that three 
men, one truck driver, one man in the car, and one 
man to operate the conveyor, can unload a 50-ton car 
of buckwheat in one hour and ten minutes, or about 
350 tons in eight hours. p. f. o's. 

SIGNALS THAT PREVENT DELAY 

ONE factory guards against serious delays with a 
plan by which the production man is notified 
at once of machine trouble. The repair department is 
then notified so the trouble is taken care of quickly 
and the machine operator loses little time. 

Down in the production man's office is a board 
which carries a light for each machine in the shop. All 
machines are numbered, and when trouble develops 
the operator pushes a button located near him and this 



TIME SAVERS 159 

causes the light under his machine number on the 
board in the office of flash. A clerk investigates the 
trouble at once and covers instructions to the repair 
department by means of a pneumatic tube. 

The repair department has at hand complete informa- 
tion on all the machines and if the repair requires a new 
part the mechanic knows what to take with him. Often 
this foresight prevents a second trip to the repair room. 

The prevention of serious hold-ups of a few im- 
portant rush jobs has compensated for the cost of 
installing the plan. t. f. m. 



A 



A PERPETUAL SORTING INDEX 

LL manufactured orders are collected in the 



McCallum Hosiery Company to a long bench 
which is divided into 100 compartments. These com- 
partments are numbered in black figures on the front 
edge of the bench from 00 to 99. There are not likely 
to be more than 100 orders in the shop on any one day. 

Parts of each order may be distributed to several 
workers or inspectors; part may be picked out of stock. 
As fast as each partial group is made or selected it is 
taken to the compartment which carries the same 
number as the last two digits in the order number. 
For instance, order number 8987 is collected to com- 
partment 87. Tomorrow the order numbers may be 
in the 9,000's, but by that time today's orders will be 
gone and order number 9087 can occupy the 87th 
compartment. 

This bench is along the outer wall of the stockroom, 
in a side aisle past the ends of the stock racks. The 
aisle starts from a door opening into the manufacturing 
department. Thus the bench is handy either for 
picking goods from the shelves, or for bringing in 
manufactured orders. Many goods are shipped with- 
out ever having been in the stock racks. 



160 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

A ticket representing the full order lies in the com- 
partment. As each succeeding part of the order arrives 
at the compartment it i-s checked off on the order form. 

When the last instalment has reached the bench, 
the complete order is inspected for quality, style, 
numbers, sizes and quantity. While it is partially 
wrapped the ticket is sent to the shipping room office 
to have the invoice bills and shipping tag made out. 
Providing a fixed spot like this, where the component 
parts of orders can be brought together, helps control 
the day's output. p. f. o. 

SAVING WASTED PHONE TIME 

A NALYSIS of wasted time in his department proved 
-^"^ to one Western Electric executive that his men 
spent entirely too much time answering or instituting 
phone calls. It was very necessary for each man in 
the group to keep in close touch with the one or two 
departments for which he supplied information. Yet, 
in spite of the dozens of calls per man per day, only 
four men out of sixteen had a phone within reach of his 
arm. The others were obliged to jump up from their 
chairs to answer, or to call. This accounted for most 
of the wasted time. 

The desks were at once rearranged in groups of four. 
On the corner of one desk, where the four desks met, a 
standard extension arm was erected, and the phone 
already in use fastened to the arm. This arrangement 
made the one phone available for four men who could 
reach the standard, swing the arm around, and answer 
or institute a call in a tenth of the time formerly 
required. In addition to the actual time saved, the 
men are much pleased at the thoughtfulness of their 
superior in saving them so many steps. Altogether 
the saving each day is worth much more than the 
price of the equipment. t. w. A. 




«««.jrf<5 



EACH BOLT SLIPS INTO A HOLE PARTS ARE COUNTED BY "FIVE'S" 

To facilitate painting the heads of small The small ''carton in the rack must be 

bolts, one factory uses this perforated filled with exactly 100 of the small parts, 
rack. See page 123 for item See page 121 for item 




THIS WHEEL HOLDS THE WORK 

Cutting small pieces usually entails danger of accident. By grasping the wheel on 
top, the work is fed to the cutter here without danger. See page 124 for item 

161 




THIS CHUTE STORES COAL 

When more coal is being delivered to the bins than they can hold, the excess passes 

through the chute into a waiting truck that carries it to the storage pile. While 

the wagon is away, the chute fills up ready to discharge as soon as the truck returns. 

The process is thus continuous. See page 157 for item 



162 



TIME SAVERS 163 

HOW TO PLAN YOUR ROUTING 

CONGESTION of the streets is an important factor 
in route planning and should be given careful con- 
sideration. In most large cities a traffic census is 
taken from time to time, giving the number of vehicles 
which pass certain points during slack and busy hours. 
Condition of roads also has had a decided bearing 
on routes, and often it is wiser to travel two or three 
extra miles in order to avoid a bad stretch of street. 
Wise shipping superintendents keep all such informa- 
tion in plain sight, where the drivers cannot overlook 
it. One man keeps at the side of his desk a large-scale 
city map on which he marks with colored tacks and 
slips of paper the main thoroughfares and street inter- 
sections — white for those to be used, red for those to 
be avoided. A blackboard is also employed to bulletin 
especially bad road conditions as they are reported by 
drivers returning from their trips. Some owners issue 
positive orders that their trucks shall never leave the 
paved streets, and use their horses and wagons to 
cover the rough roads. o. E. B. 

LOADING CARS QUICKLY 

HERE'S the problem that confronted the manager 
in one plant. The spur of the railroad where 
the cars from this plant were loaded was several 
hundred feet from the plant itself. 

In trucking the material from the plant door to the 
car it was necessary to stop the truck at the car door. 
There several men were kept busy lifting the goods, 
one piece at a time, from the truck into the car. 

This condition was vastly improved by a little tinker- 
ing with an elevating machine that was placed in loca- 
tion at the car door. The arrangement works this way: 
The steel platform of the elevating machine can be 
lowered to within 10 inches of the ground. Therefore 



164 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 

a steel approach from the loading platform to the 
elevating machine permits trucking onto the elevating 
machine quite easily. There is a hinged sliding plat- 
form that connects this same elevating machine plat- 
form with the car, so that the goods can be raised to 
the level of the car floor then pushed on board along 
a level run-a-way. 

The same idea may be worked out in other plants 
where loading facilities commonly mean too much 
man-power for economy. b. l. b, 

PLATTING THE FACTORY FLOOR 

THE manager of a factory that had been having 
some difficulty in moving materials in the shops 
platted the entire floor space into numbered blocks. 
Streets and avenues divide the blocks and provide 
aisles for the shop trucks. 

. The truckers know the location of all blocks by 
numbers and move material about the plant without 
any delay or confusion. All route slips or orders to 
move material show the number of the block from which 
it is to be moved and the number of its destination 
block. This method has greatly systematized the 
routing of trucks and has helped in many ways to 
increase the shop output. h. o. b. 

HOW SOUNDPROOF OFFICES HELP 

EVERY shop superintendent or manager connected 
with a manufacturing establishment where noisy 
operations must be carried on, as in a boiler shop or 
rivetting room, can appreciate the difficulty in talking 
to foremen or issuing instructions, with this excessive 
noise. Usually it requires yelling at a high pitch, which 
often leads to misunderstanding and mental irritation. 
The shop superintendent of a large concern building 
power machinery experienced this difficulty in the 



TIME SAVERS 165 

boiler shop of his plant. In order that he might talk 
to his foremen without such great effort he arranged 
to have four practically soundproof offices placed about 
the shop. When he desired to discuss any blueprint or 
any instructions with the foremen or workmen they 
could retire to the soundproof box and carry on their 
conversation in a normal way. These little offices were 
made of double partitions, very much like telephone 
booths. 

Some such arrangement as this ought to work out 
to advantage in most any factory where there is exces- 
sive noise. J. n. 

WORK BOXES THAT FORM A BENCH 

WHERE a roomful of employees work side by side 
on goods which each one carries through to com- 
pletion, it has been found of value to supply each with 
a separate place to keep the work overnight and through 
the lunch hour. Such storage is very compactly pro- 
vided in the embroidery department of the McCallum 
Hosiery Company's factory. Also, in this instance, 
each girl must have a work bench, where she can con- 
veniently lay out all her work when necessary. 

To meet this need, the work boxes for several girls 
are set up in a row on stanchions. When closed, the 
top of each work box, together with the tops of the 
adjacent boxes, forms a work bench. Each box is 
18 inches long, 8 inches deep, and 10 inches wide. A 
row of them looks like a long narrow table in sections, 
with the top of each section hinged to lift like a cover. 

In the box the girl can keep her material and needles. 
Each box is fitted with a small lock so the owner is sure 
her work will not be disturbed before she is ready to 
take it up again. Embroidery is done by hand and 
no girl's work is dependent upon any other girl's, any 
more than if they were each of them at her own home. 



166 



PRACTICAL WAYS TO CUT COSTS 



This part of the factory is simply a work place, not a 
machine room. Most of the time a girl can work in 
any part of the room. E. h. 

READING WATER GAGES EASILY 

IN the power plant of the General Electric Company 
at the Schenectady works, the engineers are using a 
particularly ingenious device — it's a new wrinkle in 
water gages. At the best, 
gages get dirty some 
times and even when 
they are not dirty, either 
escaping steam or incon- 
venient levels make it 
difficult to tell just ex- 
actly where the water 
level in the gage does 
stand. 

In the case of this plant 
a cylindrical piece of as- 
bestos striped as shown 
in the illustration at the 
right, is used for a back- 
ground. The refraction 
quality of the water in 
the glass completely re- 
verses the direction of the stripes — making a definite 
line of demarcation at the water level even though the 
gages are more or less dirty and considerable steam is 
escaping. 

Engineers have no difficulty whatever in reading the 
gage from a distance. It gives them much more 
accessible control of the boilers, making for added 
safety and also a saving in time. 

s. R. T. 




YOU CAN READ IT AT A DISTANCE 

The stripes reverse their direction when 

observed through the water leaving a 

clean cut line at the water level 



